Alix Earle denies trademarking her resurfaced racist posts in social media apology

Alix Earle has issued an apology after racist posts she made at age 13 resurfaced online.

The influencer, 23, faced backlash earlier this month after old posts she made on question-and-answer site ASKfm, in which she used a racial slur, had circulated online. Earle, who has 7.1 million followers on TikTok, took to social media on August 27 to share that she was “deeply sorry” for her past actions.

“A couple of weeks ago, screenshots surfaced from my old ask.fm account showing me using a slur in the summer of 2014,” Earle began her lengthy statement. “I am taking accountability and want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word. That is no excuse for using that word in any context or at any age. That is absolutely not the way I speak or what I stand for.”

She continued: “I am deeply sorry that my words have hurt many and have led people to believe that I have any prejudice in my heart. I promise you that could not be further from the truth.”

"My platform has always focused on positivity, entertainment, and uplifting others, and will continue to do so. I am sincerely sorry to those I have offended,” Earle said.

The screenshots of the offensive posts were initially shared to Reddit two years ago, but resurfaced in light of fellow influencer Brooke Schofield’s similar apology for her own past racist remarks. In her statement, Earle explained that she received advice to not publicly address the issue, but accepted responsibility for not speaking out until now.

“I regret how I handled this situation, allowing too many people to talk me out of saying something for too long. I wasn’t sure how to handle it and unfortunately the advice I was given, although well intended, was wrong,” she said. “There is no one to blame but myself for not standing my ground and going with my gut to speak out right away.”

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As the resurfaced ASKfm posts gained traction online, Do We Know Them? podcast hosts Jessi Smiles and Lily Marston claimed they were contacted by Earle’s legal team after the screenshots appeared on a subreddit dedicated to the podcast.

“Her lawyer contacted us and said that we have violated their copyright,” Smiles alleged during the podcast episode, which aired on August 12. “People posted screenshots of [her racist posts] in our subreddit, and her lawyer said that they have a trademark to that.”

Smiles clarified that she and Marston have no affiliation with the subreddit, saying: “We don’t moderate it, we don’t have any access to it.”

In response to claims that Earle had trademarked her offensive ASKfm posts to prevent them from being shared, the TikTok star called the allegations “absolutely ridiculous and untrue.”

“In the absence of my addressing this, my silence allowed others to fill the void with rumors that simply aren’t true,” she wrote. “One rumor in particular is that I tried to trademark my old posts, which is absolutely ridiculous and untrue. Another is that a brand announced they are no longer working with me, even though we have never been in conversations with them about a partnership in any capacity.”

Earle concluded her statement: “Regardless of what’s being said online, I wanted to come on here to address the facts and most importantly apologize.”

The influencer, who grew up in New Jersey and graduated from the University of Miami in 2023, rose to TikTok stardom in 2022 for her viral “Get Ready With Me” videos. Earle is currently in a relationship with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios. The pair made headlines for their relationship last year, after the 28-year-old NFL star’s ex-girlfriend Sophia Culpo had claimed he cheated on her with Earle.

Earle later confirmed that Berrios and Culpo “were not together” when they began dating.