New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, often referred to as AOC, took to Twitter to defend herself following massive backlash online: she’s drawn much flak for seeming to adopt a southern drawl while addressing a majority-black audience on Friday.
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While claiming that it was a Bronx thing, rather than an accent, she said that’s how she talks and acts all the time.
In a speech at the National Action Network conference, AOC offered a message to the working class, reflecting on her days as a bartender: “I’m proud to be a bartender. Ain’t nothing wrong with that”.
Critics and social media users accused her of slipping into a bizarre accent, with some even comparing her to none other than Hillary Clinton, who was also once accused of imitating a southern twang.
Conservative talk show host John Cardillo even tweeted that Ocasio-Cortez’s accent was a “verbal Blackface”:
Social media users minced no words while roasting the Democratic lawmaker:
The fact that AOC tweeted that she was hurt by the accusations has infuriated netizens even more: they slammed the congresswoman for “constantly playing the victim” and claiming that she was from the Bronx, while in fact she’s said to have grown up in Westchester.