Gina Rodriguez says she has “serious learning” to do after using the n-word in an Instagram video

After issuing a lackluster apology to fans for saying the n-word while singing along to a Fugees song, Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriquez has made a second attempt to right her wrongdoing. In a Tuesday, October 15th, Instagram post, Rodriguez writes that she has some “serious learning and growing to do.”

On Tuesday, Rodriguez uploaded a video of herself getting her makeup done to her Instagram Story. In the video, she filmed herself singing along with a Fugees lyric that includes the n-word. Unfortunately, Rodriguez didn’t hesitate to say the word, nor did she hesitate to post the video for her 4.4 million followers to view.

Rodriguez later deleted the video and replaced it with a clip of her making an apology.

Followers were immediately rattled by this apology due to the fact that she said she was sorry if she offended anyone rather than saying she was sorry for using the word in the first place. It all seemed too defensive.

The backlash forced Rodriguez to issue a second, written apology later that same day.

“Whatever consequences I face for my actions today, none will be more hurtful than the personal remorse I feel,” she continued, writing that rewatching the video “shaken her to her core.”

“It is humiliating that this has to be a public lesson but it is indeed a much-deserved lesson. I feel so deeply protective and responsible to the community of color but I have let this community down,” she wrote, concluding with, “I have some serious learning and growing to do and I am so deeply sorry for the pain I have caused.”

Perhaps, if this was Rodriguez’s first offense, the public would be more forgiving. However, this video is just another addition to Rodriguez’s growing track record of anti-black incidents and remarks. Not only has she used the n-word before, but Rodriguez has also made uneducated comments, including one regarding intersectionality and equal pay that seemed to pit underrepresented groups of women against each other.

Rodriguez also made a comment in 2017 about Marvel and DC’s lack of Latino casting on the heels of Marvel’s announcement of its majority-black casted Black Panther film. All of these insensitivities led many to dub Rodriguez “anti-black,” a label she tearfully fought back against during a 2019 interview on SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning.

So, sadly, many aren’t surprised that Rodriguez is back in the spotlight for yet another racially insensitive comment. If she hasn’t already learned from her prior incidents, many wonder if she’s really going to do so now.

Hopefully, for the sake of both Rodriguez and those that she has hurt with her words, this time she will learn, grow, and change for good.