K Naomi has had to navigate a difficult week after a tweet she shared went viral for the wrong reasons
The star has since taken steps to sincerely apologise to everybody she offended with her wording.
Keitumetse Noinyane, popularly known as ‘K Naomi’, felt the outrage of South African Twitter on Wednesday morning after she shared a tweet about “bipolar people” the previous night. The presenter had written, “I hate bipolar people… You can’t always switch up, choose your vibes and be about them” and this sparked a strong reaction as many accused her of making light of mental illness.
As we reported on Wednesday, three to four per cent of South Africans suffer from bipolar disorder and at a time when the conversation around mental health in our country is in full focus, her tweet felt like a slap in the face to many who suffer from all kinds of mental illness, especially those battling bipolar disorder.
Many critics called her to order in the time that her name was trending, including affected celebrities such as Lalla Hirayama.
K Naomi apologises for insensitive ‘bipolar’ tweet
After apologising on Twitter numerous times for her offensive tweet, K Naomi has issued a statement exclusively to All4Women taking full responsibility for her poor wording
She began by apologising to the website’s readers when she said, “I’m so sorry to everyone I have offended with my tone-deaf tweet on bipolar and persons affected by the illness. My comment was not meant to offend, but rather to vent about people I found to be moody and inconsistent towards me.”
Many people have sympathised with the model, stating that it was clear that she was addressing moody people rather than those who suffer from bipolar disorder.
While she explained the intent behind her tweet, she has acknowledged that this doesn’t entirely absolve her of all wrongdoing
In her statement she essentially admitted that she should have known better when she said, “I used the wrong descriptor to carry my point across and for this, I am extremely sorry. As someone who has suffered from depression, I know too well the difficulties experienced by persons suffering from mental illness. I regret offending everyone and I do agree that some education on my part is necessary. I’m sorry.”
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