The Meme of Camila Cabello

  Trigger Warning: Racism and Cyber-bullying   

    Listen, as a Harmonizer since 2014, my opinions on this matter are both informed, and probably a bit bias. I resent Camila for what happened with the group, but I am not here to continue perpetuating the they said she said narratives. Speculation about the dissolution of the band continues to this day, but one thing is for sure, none of the women in the group were too happy with their treatment. They've all spoken up about aspects of the group that hurt them emotionally. Lauren Jauregui commented about their management's insistence that she not come out as bisexual. Dinah Jane mentioned that the record label repeatedly put down her talent, and cut her out of songs. Camila Cabello spoke about the sexualization in the group that made her very uncomfortable. However, Normani's story is the most heart wrenching, but making hating Camila a meme is actually very diminishing to the true trauma Normani and many black fans have experienced because of Camila' actions. 

The Background

    In February of 2020, Normani released a statement detailing the racist attacks she faced while in Fifth Harmony. As an active harmonizer on Stan twitter, I can guarantee that Normani is not exaggerating the quantity or the horrifying content of these attacks. As the only black member of the group, she received the full brunt of these racist and anti-black attacks. These attacks were relentless, and probably felt inescapable to the young woman who just wanted to be a performer. One might think that the benefit of being in a group, as opposed to a solo artist, is the sense of friendship and support, but Normani explains that this isn't really the case.

"not knowing how to be there for me the way that I needed it because it wasn’t their own experience, and because when they look at me they don’t see me." - Normani (2020)

     The singer is careful with her words, explaining that her group mates just could not relate to her experiences, so they could not offer the support that she needed. Fans were left to speculate about what really happened behind closed doors. However, it is clear that this feeling of being under attack and alone emotionally damaged Normani. Often times, these attacks would come from Fifth Harmony's own fans. One specific instance that most Harmonizer's know about I the "quirky" comment. In an interview, Normani described Camila as quirky, which led to Cabello's fans to charge to her defense. But such an obviously harmless comment did not require defense, if you could even call it that. The "defense" from Camila's fans came in the form of disgustingly racist and sometimes threatening posts on twitter, Instagram, and other forms of social media. The pictures were so grotesque, and some even featured edited pictures of Normani being lynched. I would imagine Normani also received countless hateful comments sent to her direct messages. For her mental health, I pray she did not read them. 

    Camila cannot control her fans, and no one is saying she led this charge of racial attacks, but what sits uneasy with the most Harmonizers, and surely all sensible people, is her response. She sent out a series of tweets claiming "love only" and for her fans not to hate on someone else to support her. Her message, though calling for the actions to stop, only briefly mentioned the disgusting and racist extent that her fans took this "defense" to. Normani's own post about the incident, where she announced she was temporarily leaving Twitter, calls out the "racial bullying" she had experienced, yet Camila only briefly mentions racism at all. She doesn't even mention Normani's name, or defend Normani's harmless comment. Camila was young, to be fair, but clearly most people would be horrified at the turn of events and would not simply leave out or downplay the real issue here. Not to mention, when Harmonizers banded together to show support for Normani during the next concert, Camila only thought it was necessary to point out the one Cuban flag in the audience. 

    I am not here to rehash that situation that happened in 2016. It could have been an isolated incident. However, Normani's post in 2020 followed up leaked pictures of Camila's old Tumblr, which contained racially charged language. These posts came to no surprise to many Harmonizers who had already seen leaked images of Camila's racist behavior, although the validity of those photos has been questioned. These Tumblr posts, on the other hand, are verifiably real, and confirmed the claims from Harmonizers that Camila is racist, or at least she has been. To her credit, Camila issued an apology regarding the Tumblr posts, citing ignorance and immaturity as reasons she used such hurtful language. Some people, however, (myself included) were not completely satisfied with her apology. Nowhere in the apology does she mention race. She simply references inequality. She also does not reference Normani, or even the black community in her post either, but the timing or Normani's statement implies there is a connection. Camila apologized, but it was, overall, empty of actually referencing what she did wrong, or who she hurt. After a few days, or maybe weeks, she faded back out of the hot-seat, not only a joke on Tiktok regarding her relationship with Shawn Mendes. Sometimes, jokes or posts are made about her racist past for clout, but should we joke about it, when many of those she hurt still feel this issue is unresolved?

I'm NOT trying to cancel her, but...

    Camila has grown up, and her past should not define her forever. I am NOT trying to cancel her, or ruin her career. It is not my place to preach such a thing, but I think we should examine the aftermath of what happened after the Tumblr posts leaked. Some fans defended Camila instantly. Others completely absolved her after her apology. However, others do not necessarily think these actions are really in her past. She did not acknowledge the black community, the community she hurt. She did not acknowledge Normani. Even after Normani released an eloquent statement on the subject, which refrained from bashing any of her bandmates, Camila did not acknowledge Normani. So, fans are left to wonder why she is leaving out these crucial pieces to the situation. 

    Sadly, I do not have a definitive answer for you, but I have my speculation. Nonetheless, my blog post was not intended to be a debate about whether Camila is a racist still or not. This isn't a stan war, this is racial oppression and the trauma inflicted upon Normani. 

    I am sure you are curious about what I want to happen, if not to cancel her. This issue is so much larger than her or Normani's career (although I understand and wholeheartedly support people who do not wish to contribute to her success anymore. I am also one of those people). This is about how society views racist actions. Camila is now a meme on Tiktok, or at least on mine. People make fun of her relationship with Shawn Mendes (which is very cringey, I agree!) and hate on her for clout. My worry is that this will become a joke, and Camila will meme her way out of taking the next step in regards to taking full accountability. 

    I am NOT saying we can't joke about Camila. The memes are funny. Her relationship with Shawn Mendes produces some of the funniest meme's I've seen. I am also not saying that we need to consistently send her hate mail either. I just think we need to be conscious about using jokes to (even unintentionally) elevate problematic people. Like it or not, those jokes only give her more publicity, and will likely help her career in the long-run. 

    Even still, if you do not think she needs to be de-platformed, then fine. Perhaps I don't disagree with you, but I do think that we need to be careful about turning problematic people into jokes. With Trisha Paytas, for example, we often see her problematic actions meme-ed away like they never happened. The same thing is happening with Camila Cabello. On one hand, the memes often make people forget about the actual bad things she's done, but also, they trivialize them too. Sometimes I cringe when I see people making fun of how much they don't like Camila, not because I like her, but because it is always for something stupid. "Camila Cabello is trash because of her chipmunk voice and her stupid boyfriend." Or perhaps she is trash because she still has not acknowledged hurting the black community and her former bandmate. Perhaps she is trash because she allowed the press to portray Normani as the angry black woman stereotype throughout much of the Fifth Harmony fallout. All of this is forgotten when we make her a joke.

    In truth, I really do not know what I am asking of you reader. I guess I am just asking you to think about what I said. Think about what happens when we turn problematic people into memes. Does it help the people they hurt? Or does it hurt them more? When she and Shawn Mendes release the next cringey song, and it gets played as a meme, those streams still help to elevate someone who refused to acknowledge the hurt they caused the black community. How do you think it makes Normani feel to see her experience sidelined for a joke, or even worse, made into a joke itself? 

Disclaimer: Camila is not the only, or even worst example of this. Other more problematic people have been turned into jokes and their actions forgotten. I only wrote about Camila because I knew a lot about this situation in particular. Hateful comments of any kind will be deleted.