John Mayer N-word Trouble

Pop singer John Mayer took his loose talking ways too far this week, with a Playboy interview that offended many fans, especially with his comments about Black people that included usage of the N-Word as well as graphic descriptions of his lack of interest in Black women.

Mayer has cine apologized on twitter, and on stage at a concert in Nashville soon after the intervew was released online. He broke down in tears at the concert, thanking his predominantly Black band for standing by him as he performed, and vowing never to play "the soundbyte game" again. But not everyone is satisfied with the apology, and it may be a long time before some of his fans get over the shock of his careless remarks. His rather disrespectful comments about the women in his life also raised eyebrows.

John Mayer seemed to be sincerely sorry for his actions, and as a very smart young performer who just needs to sort things out and keel learning, maybe this will be a good lesson for him in the long run.

John Mayer Playboy N-Word Scandal
boston.com

An analysis of such incidents and their scant longterm fallout suggests that it is now more acceptable to publicly spout racism than to publicly accuse someone of spouting racism. Look for Mayer to continue to make a vague apology to a fanbase and a punditry eager to excuse racist action because they can find no racist feeling behind it. Look for Mayer to swear he's never uttered the n-word before and never will again, and look for the context in which he said it and the clumsy if well-intentioned point he was trying to make about white privilege to be obscured.

John Mayer N-word Trouble