Social media star Charly Jordan’s TikTok video goes viral after being appointed as a prime example of “White Savior complex.” The Internet has criticized Jordan for her insensitive remarks during her travels to Rwanda for charity work. On September 2nd, the 21-year-old star, with 3 million followers on Instagram and almost 2 million followers on Tiktok, arrived in Rwanda for charity work. The day of her arrival she posted on Instagram, “Made it to Rwanda and I couldn’t be more in love…. We took all the proper precautions even if that meant getting tested a million times. I’m definitely corona free haha.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEmpo2XA6v_/
She went off to post a Tik Tok video of her dancing in front of a safari jeep with the captains. “Just had a dream come true. Peep my insta to see our trek into the Rwanda jungle to find silverback gorillas”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEo01aaA04N/
Rwanda as a country holds strict regulation against the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S Embassy in Rwanda states, “Travelers entering Rwanda must complete 24 hours of quarantine at one of the government of Rwanda’s designated hotels while waiting for the results of their COVID-19 test” and that “Violation of COVID-19 restrictions may face punishments ranging from fines and/or to up to five days in police custody”
Jordan previously said that she contracted the virus three months ago, but tested negative before leaving the US. Little did she know that she was up for a big surprise!
The Model/DJ was immediately tested upon her arrival to Rwanda. Few days later her test results were positive for COVID-19. Shortly afterwards the social media star posted a distressed TikTok video of her in tears. In the now deleted clip, she is saying that she completed “a hundred thousand tests” before arriving in Rwanda, and that the government “dragged her away” from her group. She also mentions that since she doesn’t speak the language she was locked into a room, and was forced to quarantine.
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Her emotional video attracted many viewers who found her detailing of the situation very unrealistic. Others were also fast to point to Jordan’s white savior complex, and criticize her traveling during the COVID-19 epidemic.
https://twitter.com/ztsamudzi/status/1303009015476215811
Some decided to pinpoint the exact flaws of Jordan’s video. Others hilariously searches for a single tear to shed for Jordan’s white savior complex. Perhaps the most powerful response comes from Zuba Mutesi, a local Rwandan TikToker. Mutesi refuted all of Jordan’s points about her issues in Rwanda, from Jordan lying about Rwandan people speaking English to the efficiency of Rwanda’s COVID-19 testing.
UPDATE: Rwandan TikToker Zuba Mutesi responds to Charly Jordan, who made several claims about Rwanda after getting false positive COVID test while visiting country. Zuba says Charly misrepresented Rwanda, adding English is spoken, and COVID test results are available in 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/XAtYbURVpt
— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) September 8, 2020
The controversy got more heated when people found out that she liked a shady comment from one of her fans. The comment reads, “Girl your best bet is to just bribe them and give them money. Trust me they’ll let you go right away.”
Charly Jordan liked a comment by one of her fans that suggested she bribe local officials in Rwanda. pic.twitter.com/gW2GbY3Em6
— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) September 6, 2020
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A few days later the Rwandan government allowed her to leave the hotel room after her result was deemed a false positive.
She later apologized on her social media accounts saying, “The video I uploaded to TikTok was very emotional. I never meant to offend anyone and I take full responsibility for my actions. I got separated from my group and was very confused because of the language barrier, and should’ve educated myself more before traveling. I should’ve thought about what I was doing before reacting. I’ve learned my lesson, and I know I shouldn’t have traveled during this time. I will do better in the future.”
https://twitter.com/Charlyjordan/status/1303098359750815747?s=20
https://twitter.com/Charlyjordan/status/1303106981755052032?s=20
She went on to add, “I was alone and scared, watching it back I realize how inappropriate and reactive the video was. I never meant to offend anyone I was just trying to figure out what was going on for a few days while I was alone and getting no answers. I truly am sorry. I took down the video because after watching it back I realized how inappropriate it was.”
Video Created By:
Anes Hasi
