Jess Hilarious made headlines this week for feeling “threatened” by four Sikh men boarding a plane who were later kicked off.
After ignorantly justifying her actions in a series of since-deleted videos, she backpedaled and uploaded a seemingly more genuine apology.
In the tearful four-minute video, Jess explains the situation, saying, “There’s been a picture painted of me like I’m a Xenophobe or I’m racist or prejudice.”
“Naturally, in my previous post, I was defensive,” she said, reading her written statement. “That happens when you don’t take the time to really know what’s transpiring and understanding the error of my actions, I have to first acknowledge the rooted issues – which means racially profiling a group of individuals based on their appearance and on top of that publicizing it on a platform.”
She continued explaining that she empathizes with her victims as a Black woman in this country and should’ve been more sensitive considering the current social climate.
“I’m not sure if these particular individuals that were on the plane are aware of my actions by now. Either way, I would love to apologize personally to them first, for my insensitive and ignorant behavior,” the comedian said.
“Sadly, I had no knowledge of the tragedy in New Zealand and so after my video, which doesn’t in any way excuse my behavior. I already know that. Ain’t nothing excuses it. But it opened up my eyes to a matter of ignorance as a habit that usually invokes hate. I refuse to teach spread or be an advocate for hatred. I just want to make people laugh,” she said.
“Bear with me. I’m still learning. And when I say, I’m still learning, I was unaware of Sikhs, as well. A lot of them reached out to me, educated me on who they are and what they stand for and how they help the world in different ways. I didn’t know that. I’m ignorant to a lot of shit.”
