On Tuesday, Hip-Hop star Waka Flocka took to Instagram to call out Joyce De Troch, a Dutch high-end party planner who appeared to be wearing blackface in a publicly posted photo.
In her original post, De Troch wrote what can be loosely translated as the following:
A PROMISE IS A PROMISE #Ihonormyword
#problackpete After I went down my own chimney, it seems that you actually become charcoleblack 👩🏿
#dontdiscusswithme #axioma1 Even more #respect for those that make our children happy with their black makeup! Takes a lot of work to paint your face! Damn! 😁 I conclude that: soot Pete is for #naggingpeople AND #lazybums
No, I’m not a racist #nothingtodowithit I just stand up for our #normsandvalues
In response, Waka Flocka shared her picture with the following caption:
I can’t believe you @joycedetroch 😢 I have a question for you. Do you see people of color as slaves or equals??? #WhyJoyceDetroc
While a little could have been lost in translation, it is clear that De Troch had not been cleaning her chimney as her caption suggests. This is evident based on the uniform application of the black substance on her face as well as her clean and styled hair. Fans of Waka’s expressed outrage on the photo as well as her apparent usage of the English hashtag #racist in her original post (which she was presumably claiming not to be).
The Dutch also reacted with similar outrage to the post, decrying De Troch’s use of blackface and mocking the apparent wannabe socialite. One German commenter offered a helpful suggestion:
Maybe next time just drive into a stationary car or something to get attention …. works too! [Translated]
The post shows that racism is not dead and still a very real problem, not just in the United States, but beyond our borders as well.
Author’s note: If you are a fluent Dutch speaker and would like to offer any correction to the translation, please Tweet @zoeshrugged