Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennie Nguyen has issued an apology after fans began circulating racist Facebook posts she shared amid the protests following George Floyd’s death.
“I want to acknowledge and apologize for my deleted Facebook posts from 2020 that resurfaced today,” the freshman cast member wrote Wednesday afternoon on Instagram. “At the time, I thought I was speaking out against violence.” (This, it should be noted, is a pretty ironic claim, considering one of the posts in question was a cartoon of a woman bragging about how many rioters she’s hit with her car.)
“I have since learned how offensive and hurtful my words were,” she continued. “It’s why I deactivated that account more than a year ago and why I continue to try to learn about perspectives different from my own. I regret those posts and am sincerely sorry for the pain they caused.”
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Screenshots of Nguyen’s since-deactivated account show reposts of anti-Black memes and condemnations of Black Lives Matter protesters. One post features the text, “If you follow the officer’s orders, you won’t get shot,” over an image of Ken Jeong’s character in Community cupping his hands around his open mouth. Many of the posts convey strong support for the police, including one that reads, “I’m sick of people saying cops need more training. You had 18 years to teach your kids it’s wrong to loot, steal, set buildings a blaze, block traffic, laser people’s eyes, overturn cars, destroy buildings, and attack citizens.”
According to Page Six, Nguyen also shared a debunked, completely fabricated story about Floyd assaulting a woman in Spain.
All of this would be a bad look for anyone, but Nguyen has specifically staked much of her storyline this season (after failing to generate interest in an obviously fake sister-wife plot) on calling out co-star Mary Cosby for her racist comments.
Cosby has been embroiled in her own controversy this season, with some of her fellow Housewives questioning her extravagant lifestyle and the way she runs her Faith Temple Pentecostal Church. As The Daily Beast’s Cheyenne Roundtree reported late last year, several ex-members of the church have accused her of running the church like a cult.
As if that wasn’t enough drama for one season (and it’s not even the tip of the iceberg), the past few episodes of RHSLC have largely focused on offensive remarks Cosby made about Nguyen and Jen Shah. She described Nguyen’s skin as having “yellow tones” and commented on her “slanted eyes.” Cosby also compared Shah, who was charged last year with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to “Mexican thugs.” Nguyen has been leading the charge in holding Cosby accountable for her words, though Cosby has refused to apologize or admit wrongdoing.
Of course, true devotees know that swift and sincere apologies are as rare in the Housewives universe as sensible footwear or happy marriages. Perhaps Nguyen is taking a page out of Ramona “the Apologizer” Singer’s book with her latest Instagram post. But it’s safe to assume that, should she be brought back for a second season, this is not the last we will hear about Nguyen’s Facebook history.
