The Real Reason Black Journalists Are Calling Out Tabitha Brown

Internet sensation and actress Tabitha Brown isn’t known to rock the boat too much with people. But her latest social media post is sadly sparking a bit of outrage and division with folks in the journalism community. Let’s break down why!

Whether you realized it or not, during the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party, there were a few influencers and social media content creators who were hired as red carpet hosts. As celebs arrived, more than a handful stopped to engage and answer questions after taking pics of their outfits. One host in particular, a white influencer and podcaster named Jake Shane, went viral on more than one occasion for his rants, awkward, and slightly out-of-line line of questioning.

As a result, this sparked many people to debate whether influencers should be tapped for gigs like that, especially when there are talented, skilled journalists and reporters who do that for a living, yet they keep getting passed over for people who are more social media famous.

Well, enter Brown, who decided to add her few cents to the conversation. In a post to Threads on Tuesday, she wrote: “Seeing people mad that content creators are on red carpets in elevated spaces is blowing my mind! Anybody can make content! Actors, stay-at-home parents, lawyers, entrepreneurs, employees, hairstylists, teachers, doctors, journalists, athletes, scholars, models, etc.”

She continued, “Just because they become successful doing content doesn’t mean they “just make videos” and it certainly doesn’t mean they don’t belong in elevated spaces!! Shout out to all my content creators who shaking up the world! Keep Going!”

However, what Brown was clearly missing in this conversation is the fact that nobody is arguing that content creators or influencers shouldn’t be there. The argument is that the trend of them being picked over qualified people to do a job they’re clearly ill-prepared to do is exhausting for people who work in media and journalism.

Especially when the industry has been whacked over and over again with massive layoffs, and people are now fighting to find a job they’ve already proven they can do, having to “compete” with people who have no training or other qualifications to do the job in high-level spaces that it takes years to even get to is a tough experience.

And that’s exactly why the responses to Brown’s comments weren’t so agreeable.

“I would never reduce what content creators do to “just make videos.” So many are incredibly bright, creative and engaging. But if I may speak as a career journalist, there are a lot of Black entertainment journalists who are out of work or unable to get these red carpet opportunities simply because media outlets have opted for follower count over actual ability,” said journalist and author Jemele Hill on Threads.

Added another Black media professional: “love seeing doors in traditional media being opened to content creators! I wouldn’t have the career I’ve had if Larry Wilmore hadn’t taken a chance on me. But lately I’ve seen too many influencers on red carpets who clearly aren’t prepared & unfortunately those are the clips that often go viral & perpetuate the idea that creators are undeserving. I think the outlets are doing themselves & creators a disservice by not making sure they’re ready to meet the moment.”

Others feel the influx of influencers undermines the education and experience trained journalists bring to their jobs.

One Black journalist wrote: “There needs to be more respect put on journalists who dedicated years in school and out in the field for this profession. Yes we can all be whatever we want to be but CC correspondents shouldn’t be occupying the same spaces as trained journalists without credentials and some sort media training/preparation. A lot of them wing it and that’s why just anything comes out of their mouths. I’m not about to walk into an ER and start seeing patients just because I played a few rounds of Operation.”

In a followup post, Brown defended her stance, clarifying that she wasn’t talking about content creators taking jobs away from journalists or from Black women who are severely underemployed. She also agreed that should people like content creators get in those rooms, they ought to be prepared to show up properly.