Actor and comedian Deon Cole is a newly added name among the list of many celebs who have been targeted by trolls for merely existing, or as in Cole’s case, for wearing pants. In 2020, for the NAACP award, the Blackish actor wore a blue velvet Gucci suit with bell-bottomed pants and looked really dapper while wearing it. He was nominated for best supporting actor for Blackish which he won later in the evening.
However, even after the win, the evening didn’t end well for the actor. Later, Cole shared one of the DMs he had received where he was called gay for wearing bell-bottom pants. Being gay is not something to be ashamed of, but the way DM was written and vibed, it was meant to be a derogatory term.
After that, Cole went live for 15 minutes on Instagram to tell his followers and fans how he has been getting more and more derogatory comments and messages, all from his own community. Cole explained his outfit for the NAACP Awards as disco-themed.
Cole went on to say that since he is from Chicago, he was paying homage to the city and bringing back the disco vibe. Deon chose not to comment more about this incident. However, this is not the first time any actor or artist has been trolled for their choice of outfit.
This matter was discussed at length on different podcasts. One such was Dish Nations where host of the podcast talked that this was a common occurrence where people from black communities would troll celebrities for going a little out of societal norms. It was also discussed that during his tour, Harry Styles also wore bell-bottomed pants and got no hate for it. He was rather hailed as a fashion-conscious and fashion-forward celebrity.
You trolls can’t even spell Gucci! 😤
Comedian and actor #DeonCole is NOT here for the trolls. The #Blackish star received a barrage of backlash for his recent #NAACP look. Find out how he’s addressing the haters! #DishNation https://t.co/5qD3Zjoil9 pic.twitter.com/bRFadFRYJw
— Dish Nation (@DishNation) February 27, 2020
Hosts of the podcasts also discussed how internet trolling these days has crossed all limits and is more about getting engagement through rage baiting and rage farming. Writing rage-inducing comments under artists’ posts or shaming them for their clothes and outfits has become a norm. All this is done to gain engagement and some recognition.
Earlier, during the red carpet, fashion experts would sit and decide if the dress was worth the red carpet or not. This was the origin of critiquing actors for their fashion choices. With the explosion of social media, everyone was free to give their opinions. Where half the internet became fashion experts, half became trolls.
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Experts have also warned against kids and young adults spending too much time on social media, which hinders their mental development, increases loneliness, and then results in an attitude of the world being unfair. This behavior usually leads to being bitter in life and results in a person spewing hateful comments on social media.
