Ebro Darden is likely wishing he could “undo” some comments he made about Tinashe back in 2013.
The Hot 97 host has addressed a clip circulating the internet from an interview with the then-20-year-old star, where he made insensitive comments about her last name, Kachingwe, as well as the color of her skin.
In the clip, he and co-host Peter Rosenberg discuss the Zimbabwean name before Ebro asks if they can “point out how light-skinned she is with a ghetto-ass name.” Rosenberg then tells him the name isn’t “ghetto,” while Ebro claims “sometimes these ghetto names are actually African.” As Tinashe, who fans point out seems uncomfortable in the clip, tries to shut things down, Ebro calls her “young yellow.”
Fans are less than thrilled with the resurfaced video, with some calling the comments colorist. Ebro made sure to take back his distasteful remarks via Twitter.
“Yea this was a terrible joke, we were using the name skit for people to learn her origins,” Ebro wrote while quote-tweeting the clip. “Love Tinashe that’s my homey still.”
The 46-year-old interacted with a number of people on the subject, taking accountability while noting that “explaining jokes that are offensive is a waste” and predicting that with “the many sexual and racial jokes I’ve made throughout the years, more venom I’m sure is coming.”
“People should be mad at me, especially those that don’t know me,” he wrote to one user. “I have apologized. Feel free to keep cooking me, makes sense.”
This year Tinashe released her second independent album 333, and caught up with Complex at New York’s Terminal 5 before her first-ever headlining show in the city as an independent artist.
“Being independent is very fulfilling for a lot of reasons,” she said. “There are definitely times where it feels harder, and when it feels like a little bit more of an uphill battle. But at the same time, it’s fulfilling to know that I am doing this independently and still able to make my mark and tour and do all these things after all these years and continue my career. It’s encouraging and exciting. It’s definitely more fulfilling.”
