Photo Credit: Getty Images
Alix Earle has spoken out about screenshots of her summer 2014 ASKfm account that had recently surfaced, showing Alix using a racist slur. Aug. 26: "I want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word," Alix wrote on Instagram Stories. "I am taking accountability."
Despite realizing that there is no "excuse for using that word in any context or at any age," the 23-year-old still wants her followers to know that it is "not the way I speak or what I stand for."
"I sincerely apologize for the hurt my words have caused and the false impression that I have any prejudice in my heart," she continued. "I promise you that could not be further from the truth. My platform has always focused on positivity, entertainment, and uplifting others, and I will continue to do so. I am sincerely sorry to those I have offended."
The influencer also expressed her regret for the way she handled the matter, stating that she let "too many people talk me out of saying something for too long," even though she knew it "was wrong."
"In the absence of my addressing this," she continued, "my silence allowed others to fill the void with rumors that simply aren't true."
Furthermore, Alix clarified that there was no truth to the rumors that she was attempting to trademark her previous posts or that a brand declared they would be terminating their partnership with her because she had never "been in conversations with them."
"Regardless of what's being said online," she said, "I wanted to come on here to address the facts and, most importantly, apologize."
Screenshots of the offensive comments first appeared on the Reddit page for "Alix Earle Snark" in 2023. This month, TikTok and other subreddits, including one called after the podcast Do We Know Them?, saw a backlash against the offensive comments.
On their August 12 episode, Jessi Smiles and Lily Marston, the hosts of the show, addressed the screenshots and the rumor that Alix was attempting to copyright the posts. They mentioned that, despite not being associated with the subreddit, Alix's lawyers had emailed them about the posts.
"Her lawyer contacted us and said that we have violated their copyright," Jessi stated. "People posted screenshots of that in our subreddit, and her lawyer said that they have a trademark to that."
