Jennie Nguyen went from a The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City last minute addition to public enemy #1 this month.
Horrific not-so-old posts left Jennie embroiled in a racism scandal that disgusted viewers and castmates.
After initially holding off on making a move, Bravo was shamed into firing Jennie from RHOSLC.
Jennie has vowed to speak her “truth” now that she’s no longer a Housewife. Oh dear.
Late on Tuesday, Jennie Nguyen took to her Instagram Story to share an ominous message.
“I will be finally speaking my truth tomorrow,” she threatened.
Jennie added that she will be doing so “now that I am allowed to.”
“I will be taking questions after!” Jennie added in her message.
She then wrote: “Thank you to all who supports [sic] me.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, her apology post was still up … but the tone of this Story is alarming.
See, Jennie’s latest Story isn’t exactly apologetic.
Planning to speak “my truth” can be a run up to an apology or a flagrant and defiant non-apology.
Thanking supporters is … not really setting an apologetic tone, is it?
We will delve into a couple of possibilities for how Jennie’s upcoming and future statements could go.
First, however, let’s quickly backtrack.
What was the hateful anti-Black racism that got Jennie fired in the first place?
Just a year and a half ago, in 2020, historic civil rights protests took place from coast to coast.
In the wake of consequence-free police violence and murder against Black Americans, millions took to the streets to demand change.
While police violence escalated against protesters, costing people their freedom, eyes, and lives, Jennie was more focused upon the original victims.
Jennie shared unthinkably bigoted posts targeting not only Black Lives Matter protesters but the people murdered by police.
If blaming murder victims for their own deaths weren’t enough, Jennie used classic anti-Black dogwhistles repeatedly.
She also shared patently untrue claims from fringe-right conspiracy theorists meant to reinforce a white supremacist power structure.
Sometimes, people on social media share something by mistake.
For example, someone retweets what they think is a piece of news or a simple question, not knowing that the story is untrue or the person asking the question is bad news.
When someone shares a whole lot of bad posts that all say the same inexcusably hateful things in the same way … is that an accident?
We have also noted, since Jennie’s scandal broke, that many people have said or even believed things that they wish that they had not.
People change and grow over time — hopefully, for the better.
But Jennie wasn’t reposting bad “edgy” jokes, and these aren’t really old posts. They’re from a year and a half ago.
As we reported, Jennie did apologize.
At the time when she posted the apology to her Instagram page, she was still employed by Bravo.
It is only as the backlash has continued that the network realized that Jennie’s overt anti-Black racism made her unemployable.
If Jennie is saying things as a former Housewife that she couldn’t as a member of the cast, that may be ominous.
Generally speaking, you offer your fullest and most complete apology when you’re still employed and beholden to a contract.
If someone is only able to speak out afterwards, their words often have an “f-you” vibe.
One possibility is that Jennie is going to, in the coming weeks and months, walk back her apology in whole or in part.
She might claim that “cancel culture” (a meaningless buzzword favored by the worst people alive) has come after her.
Jennie could potentially angle for a guest spot on the favored platform for white supremacy in America, Fox News.
At the same time, we should also consider that Jennie simply intends to speak at length about how she feels.
Her former castmates no longer wish to film with her. Most of her former fans have turned on her. She is being (deservedly) shamed in public.
Perhaps Jennie is planning to post something very raw and emotional, and not a defiant tantrum against accountability. We’ll see.
Some have questioned the wisdom of firing Jennie, noting that viewers could watch her learn why her despicable anti-Black posts were wrong.
We, too, would like for Jennie to become a better person, more educated and less malicious.
But there is no reason for her to do so on reality TV, while enjoying all of the financial and social benefits that come with it.
