UPDATED 10:41 p.m. EST: A tearful Jess Hilarious took to Instagram to post a video in which she apologizes for saying she felt "threatened" after seeing four Sikh men board an airplane she was also getting on.
"I'm not sure if these particular individuals that were on the plane are aware of my actions by now. Either way, I would love to apologize personally to them first, for my insensitive and ignorant behavior," the comedian said. "Sadly, I had no knowledge of the tragedy in New Zealand and so after my video, which doesn't in any way excuse my behavior. I already know that. Ain't nothing excuses it. But it opened up my eyes to a matter of ignorance as a habit that usually invokes hate. I refuse to teach spread or be an advocate for hatred. I just want to make people laugh. Bear with me. I'm still learning. And when I say, I'm still learning, I was unaware of Sikhs, as well. A lot of them reached out to me, educated me on who they are and what they stand for and how they help the world in different ways. I didn't know that. I'm ignorant to a lot of shit."
The comedian also said she will be donating $15,000 to the victims of the New Zealand tragedy.
See original story below.
In a since-deleted series of videos, Instagram comedian Jess Hilarious said that she felt "threatened" after she saw four Sikh men wearing turbans board the same plane as her. She was immediately criticized for posting a video in which she audibly made it clear their presence on the plane made her uncomfortable. "Fuck y'all, I feel how I feel. I felt threatened and that was it. Fuck y'all," she responded in another since-deleted post.
"N****s know I'm never fucking racist, but I spotted something and I put it out earlier and we just got evacuated from our plane," she said, while claiming there was "no reason" given for the evacuation. She later posted a video in which she said she boarded the plane again and the four men were nowhere to be seen. "So how ironic is it that we boarded the same plane and don't see those people," she said.
She posted a statement on her Instagram story, half-apologizing for her comments. "Look y'all I'm not racist and never have I ever been," she claimed. "We have Muslims in my family however I was totally unaware of the different types of Muslim so yes I admit I'm ignorant to the facts so teach me. I got no one put off the fuckin' plane... I didn't even say shit to anyone else on the fuckin' plane about how I felt! Again I'm sorry to ALL Muslims... deeply sorry! But I am not a racist loves."
Check out what she had to say on her Instagram story above.
