Actress Gina Rodriguez Bashed for Rapping N-Word in Fugees Song

Actress Gina Rodriguez is catching heat for her recent Instagram Story.

On Monday (Oct. 14), the Jane the Virgin star shared a clip of herself rapping along to The Fugees' "Ready or Not" while she got her hair and makeup done. Specifically, she chose the part where Lauryn Hill raps the N-word.

"Voodoo, I could do what you do, believe me," Rodriguez raps, pausing while Lauryn raps "fronting" and then chiming back in to rap along, "Niggas give me heebie-jeebies."

The backlash stems from Rodriguez's past actions that many believe indicate a measure of anti-Blackness. On Twitter, fans pointed out that perceived history.

"You're gina rodriguez. you were just accused of anti-black racism earlier this year," one person wrote in a tweet. "You cried defending yourself. Do you."

"Just can’t get over how gina rodriguez has a whole video of her crying because people were accusing her of being anti black and now she’s come out and said the n word," another wrote. "What’s wrong with that girl?"

The initial anti-Black controversy earlier this year stemmed from a Net-a-Porter roundtable interview where the actress was discussing equal pay with fellow actresses Ellen Pompeo, Emma Roberts and Gabrielle Union.

“I get so petrified in this space talking about equal pay, especially when you look at the intersectional aspect of it,” Gina had said. “Where white women get paid more than black women, and black women get paid more than Asian women, Asian women get paid more than Latina women, and it’s like a very scary space to step into.”

Her comment seemingly insinuating that Black women are paid more than Latinx women sparked the initial backlash. Shortly after the interview was published and the backlash began, the actress visited Shade 45's morning show Sway in the Morning to clear it up.

“If anything, the Black community is my community. When I speak about Latino advocacy, people think I’m only talking about people who are my skin color, but little do they know that I’m very aware of what my culture is,” Gina said on the show in January. “I know my intention. The last thing I’d want to do is put two underrepresented groups against each other."

In the past, Fat Joe has faced similar criticisms because of his frequent use of the N-word as a Puerto Rican man. His longtime friend and artist Remy Ma came to his defense, however, noting that Joe grew up like that in the South Bronx.

"I know his whole family. This didn't happen when he decided to become a rapper or [an] artist," Remy said on Revolt TV's, State of the Culture. "'Yeah, I'm gonna use the word nigga because this sounds cool.'... He's Black. Like, that's it."

One day after she rapped the N-word, Rodriguez jumped on social media to issue an apology.

"I just wanted to reach out and apologize," Rodriguez begins in the video. "I am sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees. to a song that I love, I grew up on. I love Lauryn Hill."

See Rodriguez's apology, as well as reactions to her video below.

You can view more reactions to Gina's video for yourself below.

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