Nev Schulman Says Black Girls "Tend to Catfish a Lot," and Twitter Is Pissed

Culture

Catfish host Nev Schulman used Tuesday night's Black Girls Rock awards show on BET to talk about a type of woman he thinks catfishes a lot: black women.

Guess how Twitter took that?

In a now-deleted tweet, the catfish victim-turned-MTV personality co-opted the "#BlackGirlsRock" hashtag and observed, "#BlackGirlsRock I totally agree. They also tend to #Catfish a lot. Just sayin'."

Schulman made a broad generalization on a night dedicated to raising up black women, not stereotyping and minimizing them. For his achievement in the field of Twitter douchery, he was rewarded with a swift smackdown.

@n0ctowl/Twitter

To his credit, Schulman quickly realized his error and reversed course. He owned his mistake, elevated some of his critics' voices and apologized.

The lesson: If you're a straight, cis, white male with a sizable platform, don't use it to punch down people with underrepresented voices. Black Girls Rock wasn't his time to speak. It was his time to watch, listen and learn.