Skai Jackson Is Using Her Platform To Expose Racist Behaviour Online
We simply must stan forever.
Skai Jackson, star of Disney Channels' Jessie, is using her social media platform to expose racism online.
In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the actor is publishing receipts of racist behaviour fans have sent her. She’s urging schools and institutions in particular to take real action over these issues.
“I would always just get DMs from my fans, because people know I'm an advocate for anti-bullying," she told ET. "So I would always just look at my messages and see a bunch of my fans saying, 'Look at what this person said to me, I don't know how to deal with this.’"
“People go through these struggles every day in life,” she explained, “and for me, it's kinda like my duty with the big platform that I have, to use it for good.”
Skai is only publishing information that’s already out in the public domain and refuses to share anyone’s address or phone number.
One of her callouts included actor Hartley Sawyer, whose Twitter history revealed past racist, homophobic and sexist comments. He’s since been fired from CW series The Flash. Warner Brothers stated his remarks were “antithetical to our values and polices.”
Hartley has also apologised to fans: “I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now.”
Skai hopes public condemnation of racist messages will result in valuable learning lessons. “Everyone does make mistakes,” she said, “but it's up to you to learn from them and move forward."