NBC’s Matt Lauer Handles Fake Black Lady Rachel Dolezal With Kid Gloves In Interview
In her first public interview since her cover was blown, blond white girl Rachel Dolezal told Today’s Matt Lauer that she identifies as black and has done so since she was five years old. During the 10-minute conversation, Lauer was largely gentle with the fabulist, allowing her to spin her tales and maintain that she never meant to deceive anyone without much pushback. Even when Lauer asked her relatively hard-hitting questions, he failed to follow up and merely moved on to another softball question.
Below is video of the interview, courtesy of NBC News:
In general, the interview, which is the first of a series with NBC programming that will air on Tuesday, was seen by many as a way for Dolezal to continue to get the attention she so desperately craves. Also, it is apparent that she still doesn’t fully understand why anyone should have any issues with her essentially appropriating a culture’s history of persecution and mistreatment so as to bolster her own credibility as an advocate and activist. In her mind, she is black, and she has assumed all of the baggage that comes along with that, despite growing up as a blond white girl. (And later suing Howard University for “white discrimination.“)
As the interview aired, a number of people took to Twitter to express their feelings about Dolezal’s insistence that she’s black and the interview itself.
Rachel Dolezal who sued a black college for discriminating against her for being a white woman got paid to go on TV & argue how black she is
— Glen Coco (@MrPooni) June 16, 2015
Instead of taking the longer road to black acceptance traversed by many a white folk before her, she just decided to be black. It’s not deep
— Jermaine Spradley (@MrSpradley) June 16, 2015
And when that road got rough, she fell all the way back on to the age old bastion of white privilege, reverse victimization.
— Jermaine Spradley (@MrSpradley) June 16, 2015
But Rachel Dolezal is no victim. She is violent. She violently appropriated our culture, and even our skin.
— Jermaine Spradley (@MrSpradley) June 16, 2015
Rachel Dolezal says she’s identified as black since 5. She must’ve forgot when she sued Howard University for white discrimination in 2002.
— Warren Holstein (@WarrenHolstein) June 16, 2015
this is a public service announcement: rachel dolezal will never be black because she can stop being black whenever she likes
— anti colonial(is)t (@motherjohnmisty) June 16, 2015
The general consensus from the black activist community, and especially from African-American women, is that Dolezal wanted to gain full acceptance within that group by claiming that she had suffered the indignities and racism that black Americans have had to deal with for centuries. She basically put on a costume and assumed a new identity because not only did she want to be seen as a strong black feminist, but she also wanted to be recognized as a leader within that community.
For their part, NBC has decided to hitch their wagon up to this raging garbage fire and milk it for all it’s worth. Dolezal will gladly participate as she looks to find some way to monetize the controversy that she created. Obviously, Dolezal will present herself as a victim moving forward and try to convert her story into a book, more paid interviews and maybe even a movie. Need to strike while the iron’s hot, right?
