*MadameNoire has sparked outrage among some readers after it was discovered that a white woman writes for the online outlet.
Julia Austin is the freelance contributor who is being called out for taking up digital space and money meant for Black content creators.
Some outraged MadameNoire readers have even accused her of using digital blackface… even though she does not pretend to be Black or represent Blackness nor has she written about race for the outlet.
Still, one lone Twitter user appears to have made this an issue, sparking debate on Twitter about non-Blacks writing for Black media. Check out the reactions below.
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This white woman, Julia Austin, has been doing digital blackface for YEARS and is a top contributing writer for Black women’s blog, @MadameNoire . This is disgusting yet very unsurprising. She’s literally taking up space and money meant for Black women content contributors. pic.twitter.com/22RNDe55oL
— Supa Mess (@MessSupa) July 23, 2020
One commenter on LipStick Alley noted, “I peeped a long time ago. I just went on MadameNoire’s site today and saw that this Julia Austin person’s latest article questions (Black) women who purchase or desire to purchase their own home without finding a man first.”
Twitter user Supa Mess wrote, “This white woman, Julia Austin, has been doing digital blackface for YEARS and is a top contributing writer for Black women’s blog, @MadameNoire . This is disgusting yet very unsurprising. She’s literally taking up space and money meant for Black women content contributors.”
Several users responded to her grievance by noting, “Does she identify as a black woman? I’m confused how this was digital blackface.”
Another user responded, “The writer uses black stock photos in her article profiles and uses appropriation phrasing (‘i love us’, ‘we’ in ref to black women in articles). If it was a white lady writing her articles as a white lady, it wouldn’t be a blackface issue.”
Below are screenshots of some of Austin’s articles on MadameNoire:
In a follow up tweet, Supa Mess revealed MadameNoire “blocked me for exposing their white writer Julia Austin who pushes destructive, racist narratives to Black women. I see you.”
After several tweets were fired off to MadameNoire about the Julia Austin controversy, Culture Editor Veronica Wells released the statement below:
