Former Miss Universe Malaysia Samantha Katie James has come under fire for her remarks suggesting people choose their race and that African Americans should relax amid protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
James posted several false comments on her Instagram page related to the unrest in the United States, including the claim that one’s race is a personal choice.
“To the black people,” she wrote. “Relax, take it as a challenge, makes you stronger. You choose to be born as a ‘colored’ person in America for a reason. To learn a certain lesson.”
James also made comments saying the protests weren’t relevant to her because she didn’t live in America.
“It has nothing to do with me, but to me, it seems like the ‘whites’ won,” James wrote. “Because if you’re angry, you respond in rage and anguish. That means it has power over you. THEY HAVE POWER OVER YOU.”
Actor Henry Golding shot back at the comments, saying they “infuriated” him.
“You have zero idea what black people have to go through on a day to day basis,” Golding said. “For you to be talking such racist shit on a platform like yours needs to be called out.”
James later posted a series of Instagram posts apologizing for her remarks and said her words were taken out of context.
“I did poorly articulate myself when writing ‘black people choose to be black,'” James wrote. “If I had been more attentive in how I wrote it, the message would’ve been understood as a heartfelt message to all victims of racism be it any color.”
