CNN’s Don Lemon Shamelessly Defends AOC’s Fake Accent That Stereotypes African Americans

AOC is facing a load of backlash for dropping a hideous fake “blaccent” in front of a crowd at some sort of event for Al Sharpton. It’s actually painful to watch.

Ocasio-Cortez speaks in an accent that she never uses while telling a room of predominately black people that there is nothing wrong with them folding clothes, cooking, and driving other people around on a bus for a living. pic.twitter.com/FIbIAPokt0

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 5, 2019

.@AOC: "I'm proud to be a bartender. Ain't nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with working retail, folding clothes for other people to buy. There is nothing wrong with preparing the food that your neighbors will eat." pic.twitter.com/4uveYJNqVj

— The Hill (@thehill) April 5, 2019

Her defense is even more cringeworthy.

Folks talking about my voice can step right off. Women’s March & Kavanaugh speech, same.

Any kid who grew up in a distinct linguistic culture & had to learn to navigate class enviros at school/work knows what’s up.

My Spanish is the same way.

These conspiracy mills are 🚮. https://t.co/8li33Jd6DL

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 5, 2019

You hear that? You have to pretend to have a different accent depending on what group of people you’re around. Genuine people do that all the time! (LOL except not.)

As much as the right wants to distort & deflect, I am from the Bronx. I act & talk like it, *especially* when I’m fired up and especially when I’m home.

It is so hurtful to see how every aspect of my life is weaponized against me, yet somehow asserted as false at the same time.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 5, 2019

You’re hurt that we’re pointing out that you’re literally changing your accent to pander to a crowd of people? Grow some thicker skin, honey cakes. Cry me a river, too.

What’s even more unbelievable than her pathetic excuse for her accent? Don Lemon’s defense of it. He thinks it’s OK, because she wasn’t mocking the crowd. She was just trying to relate to them. Big difference!

“There is a difference between mocking someone, or a group of people, and knowing your audience,” Lemon said, adding that it’s acceptable for Ocasio-Cortez to mimic stereotypical African American accents because she grew up around black communities in New York.

“You have hung out with black people and that’s not the first time she’s used that accent. Trust me.”

“It’s code switching, everybody does it. I do it. You do it. You may not realize you’re doing it,” he added.

HAHA OK. I guarantee if I spoke in front of a group of southerners and pulled out my terrible southern accent in order to “relate” to them, people would throw rotting fruit at me. I’m also pretty sure Don Lemon wouldn’t defend me.

"We're talking about code-switching. I do it, we all do it. There is a difference between mocking someone and knowing your audience." — @DonLemon

CNN hosts defend @AOC's accent adoption at NAN event.https://t.co/FK7KGwYn0T pic.twitter.com/cTud4foco4

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 6, 2019

I just can’t.

h/t Washington Examiner