A makeup video on TikTok is viral for all the wrong reasons. A woman who goes by the username @easy_baobo transformed herself into basketball legend Kobe Bryant, and people are very upset about it, saying it constitutes blackface.
The ten second video shows an incredible transformation, with facial hair and everything, and while it is technically impressive, it’s rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Take a look:
There’s a debate whether the video was a genuine tribute to Bryant, or if it presents — intentionally or unintentionally — a disrespectful mockery. It may seem like a stretch that this woman would go through all this work just to be racist, but it’s possible, and blackface is a volatile topic in this country with a painful and oppressive history, so the outrage is not out of nowhere.
Here’s some context: The practice of blackface in the United States goes back at least as far as the 1800s and minstrel shows, a form of live entertainment for which white performers would put on dark makeup and perform a caricature of Black people. The performance of blackface often bore the intent to demean Black people, and uphold a brutal system of white supremacy. As Alexis Clark, a historian and journalist, points out in this essay,
“…the widespread demeaning portrayals of African Americans paralleled a period when southern state legislatures were passing “Black Codes” to restrict the behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. In fact, the codes were also called “Jim Crow” laws, after the blackface stage character.”
The practice prevailed well into the motion picture era and onto TV, and now even turns up on social media. It’s pretty disturbing, and incredibly racist. Here’s a famous historical example:
The practice came under widespread scrutiny during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and although people still did (and do!) blackface, they at least get in trouble for doing it. Today it is considered absolutely one of the most offensive things you can do, and that’s clear in the heated reactions to this TikTok video.
The subject of intent came up in the TikTok conversation, with one commenter asserting, “This is blackface. Whether the intention is cruel or not. She is benefitting from black suffrage. She is using black pain as an art form that does not come from her culture. And making money whilst so….this got them the clout they were looking for…”
Others take the other side of the argument. “Folks…this is not blackface you guys need to chill the hell out,” one person replied, pretty flippantly.
Another commenter is kind of trying to position themselves in the middle; they acknowledge the craftsmanship, and the fact that the TikToker in question isn’t white, but they but still don’t like it, stating:
“This Asian woman recreates the image of the late, Kobe Bryant. I will say this much, Damn! good work! And, I’ll also say this, They just can’t leave us the f*ck alone! Sheesh!”
Here’s another argument: “No blackface is defined as using makeup to look like a CARICATURE of a black person. This is not a caricature this is just a literal representation of kobe. My god yall.”
As you can see, this is a pretty hot-button issue, as it should be. Making this conversation all the more difficult is the fact that Bryant passed away suddenly and tragically in January of 2020 following a helicopter crash.
TikTok user @easy_baobo has yet to respond to the controversy, but we’ll let you know if they do.