The Monterey Bay Aquarium's social media team is apologizing for a tweet posted earlier this week where it called an otter "thicc" and "an absolute unit," and "chonk."
In 2018, a year where this big cow and hot duck thrived, it’s no surprise someone tried to turn a hearty sea otter into internet gold, but unfortunately they took a few missteps. “Abby is a thicc girl. What an absolute unit. She c h o n k. Look at the size of this lady,” they wrote, emphasizing each one line by line. “OH LAWD SHE COMIN.”
The tweet was met with some praise and also criticism, mostly for using too many hip terms and employing AAVE (African American Venacular English) at the same time. The word “chonk” is also generally accepted as rude slang for people who are overweight.
As intended, the tweet did go viral.
The aquarium has now apologized in a series of new tweets. “Hey everyone. It has come to our attention that some of the references in this tweet are problematic and insensitive,” it began. “We’re posting here in the thread so that people who have engaged with this tweet will join us in our learning moment.”
The apology is four whole tweets long, which might be a little otter the top. A big part of their error, they say, was to use terms that "specifically reference Black women's bodies. Using them in a sea otter meme without that background makes insinuations we never intended."
Some people thanked the aquarium, while others criticized the apology, which should remind everyone that you can never win at the internet.
What should really outrage everyone is that technically Abby is not even large by typical sea otter standards. The aquarium’s mammal curator (what a job) Christine DeAngelo told the Los Angeles Timesthat Abby weighs a very average 46 pounds, making this all otterly ridiculous.
If it isn’t clear by the end of this post, the best solution is to burn the whole operation down. Since that’s not really an option, just say a little prayer for Abby before you go to bed tonight. Bless her little otter heart.
We're only a few days out from Christmas, so for the love of all things cute and furry please keep it together people.
