Shiloh Hendrix: Racism Rewarded or a Misguided Cause?

on

 






Shiloh Hendrix, a trending name across all platforms, is being celebrated by a disturbing number of white Americans. Yes—celebrated—even after going viral for calling a 5-year-old Black autistic boy the N-word. “Nigg*r,” to be specific. We all know what she said, so I won’t go deep into repeating that moment. But what echoed in the aftermath of her clearly racist behavior is perhaps even more unsettling: the response from many white Americans who not only excused her actions, but rallied behind her financially and morally.

This woman, widely recognized online as a textbook “Karen,” actually had the audacity to create a GoFundMe after the backlash—reportedly taken down—but later moved her fundraiser to GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding platform often used by far-right or controversial figures. From what I’ve gathered, she’s now raised nearly half a million dollars in donations.



Let that sink in.

Her supporters aren’t just defending her; many are claiming she’s a victim. She says she’s been doxxed, her family is receiving threats, and her Social Security number has been leaked. But instead of holding her accountable for sparking this chaos by verbally attacking a child, they’re turning their wrath toward the man who filmed the incident—a Black man, by the way. Ironically, it was another white person who originally doxxed her, but her fans have decided to redirect the blame.




And they’re doing what racists online always do: attempting to discredit the person who exposed her. One racist social media influencer—who regularly uses the N-word and attacks anyone who isn’t white—posted a video bashing the man behind the camera. She even tried to discredit him by saying he’s “not even from America,” as if his nationality somehow erases what Shiloh said. Others took it even further, digging into the cameraman’s past, or fabricating stories, claiming he has a criminal record involving the assault of children—a claim with zero credible evidence.

It's a smear campaign. A distraction. And it’s painfully familiar.

Supporters of Hendrix have tried to compare this situation to Carmelo Anthony, a Black man who raised half a million dollars to fight his own legal case (which, to be clear, involved a far different set of circumstances). The implication is that if Black people can support each other through controversial or tragic moments, so can they. But these two situations are not the same, and the attempt to make them equivalent is rooted in hypocrisy and deep-seated racial resentment.



Not all white people are supporting Hendrix, to be fair. A lot of white users on X (formerly Twitter) have spoken out in disgust, distancing themselves from the hateful rhetoric. In fact, even GiveSendGo was forced to remove the comment section from Hendrix’s fundraiser due to the vile and racist things being posted—by her own supporters. The organization made a public statement saying the comments had become "gross and unmanageable," which in itself says a lot.

Many in the Black community have spoken out, rightfully calling this what it is: a backlash to Black solidarity. People are pointing out how this mirrors past racist behavior, like the way many white Americans donated to George Zimmerman after he murdered Trayvon Martin—a teenager who was literally walking home with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea. Zimmerman not only walked free, but he was celebrated at events where supporters signed bags of Skittles in mockery. It’s the same energy. The same hate. The same twisted narrative.

Here are just a few of the tweets circulating right now—some horrifying, others hopeful:

  • “I donated to Shiloh because I’m tired of these race-baiters crying over every little thing. She said what everyone’s thinking.”

  • “Imagine being so racist that you give a woman $500k for screaming at a 5-year-old. This country is broken.”

  • “Shiloh is not the victim. That child is. And everyone supporting her is complicit in protecting hate.”

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about a woman screaming a slur. It’s about how racism is still rewarded. It’s about the systems that protect people like her. It’s about the people who see her as a martyr rather than a monster.

We need to call it out—loudly and relentlessly. Because if this is the America we live in, we better not let silence be part of the problem.





Comments

Post a Comment