If you've been on social media at all in the last few days you'll have no doubt seen the drama that's been unfolding between comedian Hannah Berner (of Summer House and Giggly Squad fame) and musician Megan Thee Stallion.
To recap, Hannah and Paige DeSorbo (who co-hosts the Giggly Squad podcast and also appears on Bravo's Summer House and Southern Charm) were the official red carpet correspondents at the Vanity Fair Oscars party this past weekend. Along with interviewing the likes of Madison Beer and Hailey Bieber, the pair also chatted to Grammy-winner Megan Thee Stallion.
What happened between Hannah Berner and Megan Thee Stallion?
During the conversation, Paige gushed over the singer-slash-rapper-slash-songwriter and revealed she always starts her day listening to Megan's music. But, things went awry when Hannah added her thoughts into the mix, saying: "When I want to fight someone, I listen to your music."
"When people are talking s**t, I say 'Turn on Megan Thee Stallion'," she added, going on to point out how the artist has been through "So many dark things".
What was the reaction to Hannah Berner and Megan Thee Stallion's interview?
The clip quickly went viral, with viewers highlighting how insensitive Hannah's comments were. Megan has openly spoken about being a victim of violence in the past. In 2020 Megan was shot in the foot by Tory Lanez (who was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison for the crime). In the same year, she told Genius that "fighting is so ugly."
In response to the video, some people accused Hannah of using microaggressions (defined as subtly/unconsciously/unintentionally expressing a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalised group) against Megan, while others suggested her position as a comedian and influencer means she's not qualified to host interviews in place of a trained journalist.
"Meg handled this so well. The microaggressions were crazy," one TikToker said on the official video, as someone else wrote: "The way Meg was trying to shift the tone to a self love thing and they kept making it about fighting."
"She needs to apologise to Megan now. Stop painting Black women as aggressive," a third TikToker commented. "What happened to hiring people with a journalism degree?" another wrote.
What has Hannah Berner said about her Megan Thee Stallion interview?
Now, just days on from the fall out, Hannah (who recently had her own show – Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn – air on Netflix) has taken to her Instagram Stories to apologise for the incident. Here's her statement in full.
Interviewing Megan Thee Stallion was a dream of mine. I love her music and It’s my go to whenever I need to boost my confidence before a show. Looking back at the interview, I wish I used any other word except 'fight' to describe how her songs impact me.
It was a careless choice of words and though there was no ill intent, I recognise and acknowledge that what I said has a deeper meaning and I am so sorry to Megan. I appreciate everyone who brought this to my attention.
So far, Paige and Megan are yet to comment on the incident.
