A racist post by the PragerU staffer Aldo Buttazzoni that claimed Black people have “never been told no before” has caused a firestorm at the right-wing advocacy group, with colleagues calling out the conservative influencer both publicly and behind closed doors.
The internal strife stems from a tweet fired off by Buttazzoni on Monday in response to a video claiming to show a “racist Target employee” calling the police on and shutting down an in-store flash mob that appeared to be made up mostly of Black women.
Buttazzoni, who is white, replied: “Black people are so used to being coddled by society that any time they’re reprimanded, they can’t help but perceive it as racially motivated. It’s the societal equivalent of never disciplining a child. They’ve never been told no before.”
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The post was met with backlash online from Black conservatives who couldn’t believe Buttazzoni, known for interviewing subjects on the street about hot-button cultural issues for PragerU videos, suggested that all Black people have never been told “no” or been reprimanded.
But among the harshest critics were his own colleagues—those typically viewed as conservative firebrands insistent on dunking on what they describe as wokeism, liberal values and faux racism. It appears Buttazzoni’s post crossed a line, however, forcing them to speak up.
“To say Black people have never been told no is insane,” wrote PragerU personality Xaviaer DuRousseau, who is Black. “That is a radically unserious perspective of US history.”
CJ Pearson, another Black personality for PragerU, called out Buttazzoni for painting hundreds of millions of Black people with “such a broad brush,” insinuating his tweet was “counterproductive” to PragerU’s conservative movement.
“This is no different than when the left accuses every white person of being complicit in white supremacy,” he wrote.
A source familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast on Thursday that Buttazzoni’s “off-base” post churned up “a lot of anxiety” within the nonprofit—especially since PragerU, which is not an accredited academic institution, is in the middle of a push to have its right-wing educational videos be approved as supplemental curriculum in classrooms nationwide. Florida approved PragerU Kids’ curriculum for this school year, but no other state has followed suit.
PragerU has been the center of a number of controversies since it was founded as a conservative nonprofit and media company in 2009. Its videos and podcasts that center on American nationalism and all-things culture war regularly receive millions of views on YouTube. Its founder, conservative radio host Dennis Prager, has often found himself at the center of controversy, too—namely for his profound hate of pride month.
On Twitter, Buttazzoni responded to criticism from fellow conservatives—like the failed GOP candidate Kimberly Klacik, the conservative rapper Zuby, and former Rep. Vernon Jones (R-GA)—but didn’t apologize. In one defense of the post, he wrote, “Black people are held to an entirely different standard of expectations than any other racial group in this country.”
Buttazzoni, 23, didn’t respond to a call and direct message from The Daily Beast, but tweeted a statement Thursday—three days after his initial post—to clarify he didn’t mean “every” Black person, just a chunk of the younger folks. He did not delete his initial post.
“I obviously didn’t mean every black person but many young people who pull the race card when it doesn’t apply,” he wrote. “Many young people today across races aren’t told no enough and when they are, they’re quick to scream victimhood instead of taking personal accountability.”
He added: “I was inarticulate with my generalization but I stand by the overall point.”
A PragerU spokesperson did not acknowledge a list of questions sent by The Daily Beast, instead pointing to Buttazzoni’s statement.
