Comedian and "Grown-ish" star Deon Cole is speaking out against homophobic comments and threats he received after wearing a navy blue, velvet, bell-bottom Gucci suit to the NAACP Image Awards this past Saturday.
Cole recently shared a direct message from an anonymous user on his Instagram. The DM read, "Gay a*s n*gga," along with a photo of him on the red carpet wearing the bell-bottomed suit.
Cole captioned the photo, "Tomorrow I'm going to do a post talking about this and the many many more derogatory messages and threats I’ve received about that gucci velvet bell bottom pants suit that I wore. It’s sad that these messages come from my own kind but more about this tomorrow. #justakidfromthechi #gucci."
Soon after, Cole posted a 15-minute IGTV video explaining his extreme distaste for the homophobic threats he received online.
"I've been called a bitch ass n*gga, faggot. I've been told imma get my ass whooped, motherf*ckers done threatened to beat my ass...women like 'yeah you aint shit no more you was my favorite comic, you not no more'. Motherf*ckers have denounced me from being funny, like 'n*gga you aint even funny no more n*gga aint nobody checkin' for you no more' because of a suit."
After verbally expressing his disdain, he later posted a picture of Harry Styles from the group One Direction wearing a similar suit, expressing that he didn't receive any backlash. But Cole makes it apparent that the backlash he is receiving from his own community stems from the Black community possessing "self hate".
His recent interview on "The Real" further explains his thoughts on the Black community attacking him for his choice of dress.
Despite all of the negative critics, Cole has had an out pouring amount of support from fans and celebrities. Miss Lawrence, Tisha Campbell Tyson Beckford and CNN's Don Lemon have all posted positive comments in regards to Cole's bell-bottom backlash. Cole even found some comedic relief among all the negativity. He posted two memes comparing his bell bottoms to Austin Powers and singer Selena.
It's great to see that Cole is taking a stand against homophobia and black men's masculinity being questioned for senseless reason. #Gayes, what are your thoughts on this entire situation?