Love Island contestant criticised for using the N-word in video
Zara McDermott apologises and insists she is not an 'ignorant' person
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Love Island contestant Zara McDermott has apologised after using the N-word in an Instagram video.
The 21-year-old former government adviser was criticised after her boyfriend Adam Collard shared a video of her singing along to Chris Brown song "Look At Me Now".
Collard, 22, can be heard cheering McDermott on as she is driving and rapping at the same time.
The Newcastle native captioned the clip, which has since been deleted: “Baaaaaaarrrrrss.”
While RnB star Brown, is black, McDermott is white and she was criticised for her use of the offensive term.
“Zara being a government adviser whilst comfortably saying the n-word multiple times on Adam’s insta story, then replying by saying ‘it’s just a song’ instead of apologising, is so f***** up I don’t even know where to begin,” said one Twitter user.
“No one who uses this word should be working for the government,” added another, while a third tweeted: "She knew what she was doing. She knew she was being recorded and she didn’t care. She did it anyway, then laughed when a black woman called her out on it. She’s so grim. Hope Adam breaks her heart,"
McDermott initially responded to one critic by saying: “It’s a song omg”. She posted it next to crying emojis which are often used to denote laughter.
But she has now apologised for using the term and insisted she is not an “ignorant” person.
“I am sorry that I offended anyone,” she posted on Instagram. “My point is that it wasn’t aimed at anyone, it was lyrics to a song that had been in the public domain for many years, a song that many people know.”
“But I am genuinely sorry to have offended anyone, it just upsets me that people would ever think I was been intentionally nasty or ignorant because I wasn’t.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments