After tweeting out an inaccurate statement about being the first plus-sized woman to star as lead in a romantic comedy with her role in Isn’t It Romantic, many people quickly pointed out that Rebel Wilson was forgetting about actresses like Queen Latifah, Mo’Nique, Melissa McCarthy, and others.
Instead of responding to the critiques or posting a screenshotted apology, she dismissed them, calling the films starring Mo’Nique and Queen Latifah a “slight grey area.” Wilson then took it a step further and began to block the people who tweeted at her about her statements — and most of the users she was blocking were black. She blocked so many people that they were able to create a sizable hashtag community under #RebelWilsonBlockedMe.
On Monday evening, she circled back to the conversation, issuing a formal apology not only for her initial comments which she called “well intentioned,” but also for blocking the people who took the time to point out that she had been incorrect. She explained that she blocked people on Twitter because she was “hurting from the criticism.”
“With the help of some very compassionate and well-thought out responses from others on social media, I now realize what I said was not only wrong but also incredibly hurtful,” she wrote on Twitter. “Again, I am deeply sorry.”
Based off of Twitter users’ responses to Wilson’s apology, it also appeared that she unblocked the people she initially blocked. “Rebel unblocked us,” one Twitter user wrote.
