Nev Schulman, host and executive producer of MTV’s Catfish, tends to say unfortunate things without thinking. He once posted a photo of himself in an “abuse-free” elevator with a message that admonished Ray Rice for domestic violence. Unfortunately for Schulman, Gawker then dug up some accounts of his expulsion from Sarah Lawrence College for punching a woman in the face. Schulman has always maintained that he acted in self-defense, and his representative said as much to Gawker. His account of that incident could be accurate, but his preachy elevator message still didn’t sit well.
Schulman has found himself in another messy social-media situation. He made a comment upon the #BlackGirlsRock special on BET by saying that, sure, these ladies rock. Then he added that they do “a lot” of catfishing too.
https://twitter.com/helladesi/status/717587253694889984
For those who aren’t aware of the catfishing phenomenon, Schulman was possibly implying that black women need to fake an identity to meet men online. For obvious reasons, folks weren’t pleased to hear the generalization.
Not only was Nev Schulman's tweet super racist, but he also lost a huge amount of viewers and fans so congrats nev u just played yourself
— arab fran fine (@leeeeeenbean) April 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/vpdollarsign/status/717584264771010561
https://twitter.com/PaintingDaBlues/status/717717648721596416
Schulman later apologized for his insensitivity after being owned by a woman who explained why people find his tweet so offensive.
Thank u @melaninporn for taking the time to help me understand some of the issues POC deal w/. Sorry to all I upset. pic.twitter.com/ws9T1JraWf
— Nēv Schulman (@NevSchulman) April 6, 2016
The Twitter user, who goes by Cici, received a great deal of attention after her response to Schulman. She wants the world to know she didn’t “slam” the guy but, rather, informed him.
Damn, I didn't SLAM him, I educated him, but ya know. https://t.co/wpIlwF1ezL
— cici (@sexandthecici) April 8, 2016
Some skeptics aren’t into Schulman’s apology and feel he only walked back his words after feeling pressured.
https://twitter.com/MorethanaWish/status/717948208886841344
Yet Schulman insists he learned a huge lesson from this debacle.
You're right to be upset & don't have to accept my apology, but I am deeply sorry to those whom I offended and learned a valuable lesson.
— Nēv Schulman (@NevSchulman) April 6, 2016