After traveling to Africa, CoverGirl’s new cover boy regrets Ebola joke
What a difference 10 days in South Africa makes.
Last month,CoverGirls’ first ever “Cover Boy,” 17-year-old James Charles, made everyone cringe when he fired off a racist tweet joking about Africa being a disease-ridden place where he may catch Ebola:
Not only was the tweet not funny, but it was factually inaccurate. In January, the World Health Organization said the continent of Africa was now clear of Ebola.
Charles issued a quick, half-hearted apology saying he “felt like sh*t” for the tweet before disappearing from social media.
In an Instagram post published Tuesday, Charles said he spent the last 10 days traveling across South Africa where he met with local students and learned about their culture.
“Learning about the school system, education and their everyday lives was eye opening,” he wrote. “After touring the campus, I sat down with a large group of kids and talked to them about my ignorant comment which degraded their continent.”
“Being able to talk to these kids about my mistake taught me an important lesson about privilege, something that has always been a concept I didn’t fully understand.”
“Through speaking with them, I became aware of the potential impact I may have–both positive and negative. I don’t want to be someone who takes advantage of this privilege.”
We’re glad it was an educational experience for him.
