Teenage YouTubers Macy Castelman And Jayde Landers Face Backlash Over Calling For A Return To Slavery And A Resurgence Of The Ku Klux Klan
They have lost their jobs over the video.
The language in the video is like something out of a lynch mob. Two girls face a camera and shout out a litany of horrible racial stereotypes before saying "Bring back slavery!" and "Bring back the KKK!" The girls say the video is old and was really just an inside joke between friends, but no one who has seen it feels like that excuses what they said. Their current and former schools have made statements condemning their words and one girl's employer has indicated that she violated their code of conduct and no longer has a job with them.
Who are Macy Castelman and Jayde Landers? Read on for all the new details.
1. Racist SnapChat video
A SnapChat user posted a video of Castelman and Landers in which the two girls shout "We hate n*****s.” They go on to say "They smell. They don’t work. So we should bring back slavery to whip them n*****s. Bring back the KKK!” Wooooo!” The video cuts out as Landers says "Shh. People like black people sometimes.”
There was no context surrounding the video. It's unclear where the girls were, what prompted them to say such things or who was doing the filming.
2. Called out on Facebook
A Facebook user named Gabby Goldsborough shared the video along with a caption saying: "love how people sit around & act like racism isn’t still a thing. macy castelman and jayde landers u have a lot of explaining to do. you can say it’s an inside joke. or think it’s funny. but it’s not. the video was posted 11 hours ago so 3 years ago my ass. if you had black people in your family i know for a fact they wouldn’t appreciate to hear that come out of your mouth now would they and honestly i don’t care when you said it. i don’t care if you said it 5 years ago. the n word still came out of your mouth and there’s no excuse. period. on behalf of my black side , we’re hurt and so disappointed ppl still think and believe this." She also shared screenshots of a text conversation between herself and Castelman where Castelman tried to explain the video away saying it was an inside joke and she didn't even remember making the video. She also said "I have black people in my family. Clearly don't feel that way...so you can chill."
A friend called the girls out for their video.
3. Calling for accountability
Once the video hit social media, people who saw it wanted the two teens to answer for their actions. Because Goldborough used their names in her post, it didn't take long for others to figure out where they went to school and where they had jobs. Shortly thereafter, Lincoln Land Community College, Auburn High School, and Concordia Village and Lutheran Senior Services were all investigating the roles the girls had played in the video and what action to take in response.
4. High school statement
Landers is a senior and Auburn High School and Castelman is a graduate of the same school. In a statement posted by the district, they address Castelman's words because she did most of the speaking in the video. The school notes that "On Saturday afternoon Auburn Community Unit School District #10 was made aware of a video posted on the internet showing an individual making heinous statements in regards to slavery and the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). Administration immediately commenced a thorough investigation...The District has determined the video is from October of 2017, and the individual making the racially charged comments is no longer a student in our District."
The statement does note as well that Landers also used the n-word or that she is a current student, probably due to legal protections of student privacy. They simply said "The District will follow policies and procedures in place in regard to any current students involved in the video. That process will become a part of official student records and could only be discussed with the students and their parents/guardians."
5. Lincoln Land Community College
Castelman is said to be a student at a local community college where she may be studying nursing. Lincoln Land Community College has also been made aware of the video and posted a statement on their official Facebook page that said, in part: "Discrimination, harassment, and/or intimidation of students, employees and other individuals at any College facility or in connection with any College activity are taken seriously. If this situation involved a current student at LLCC, then it would be investigated and adjudicated per the policies and procedures of the College."
6. No longer employed
Castelman was also, apparently, employed by Concordia Village, Lutheran Senior Services organization. They have also investigated the video and issued a statement to confirm that she has been fired over her role in the video, saying: "A disturbing video posted on a personal social media account by a former employee over the weekend has come to our attention. We are disappointed by the personal views expressed by this former employee and regret the adverse attention it has brought upon our community. We have addressed the situation with the employee according to our personnel policies and that individual is no longer employed by Concordia Village or Lutheran Senior Services."
Castelman lost her job over the video.
Racism is ultimately not a socially acceptable form of discourse and posting racist content on social media can come with serious consequences, as these teens found out the hard way.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.