Amber Heard responds to critics after 'racist' tweet about ICE checkpoints
Amber Heard has responded to criticism that one of her tweets was 'racist' and 'tone-deaf' this week, saying that people focusing on her Twitter comments are getting distracted from the real issues.
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old actress wrote that she'd heard that an ICE checkpoint had been set up in Hollywood, and quipped that others nearby should drive their housekeepers, nannies, and landscapers home that night to avoid it.
After critics questioned the wording of the tweet, Amber deleted it and added this morning that people should not get distracted by what's actually important.
Tricky: Amber Heard, 32, responded to critics who accused her of being tone-deaf, following a series of tweets in support of immigrants on Tuesday
Message: Amber wrote about an ICE checkpoint near her home, telling others to give their 'housekeepers, nannies and landscapers' a ride after work
Focus! She has since deleted the tweet and shared another one saying that people get too distracted from 'the real issues'
Initially, she wrote: 'Just heard there’s an ICE checkpoint in Hollywood, a few blocks from where I live. Everyone better give their housekeepers, nannies and landscapers a ride home tonight...'
Though she appears to have been trying to demonstrate that immigrants are essential to the workforce — and hold important positions in many area homes — quite a few people took issue with the way she worded that advice, labeling it everything from 'racist' to just insensitive.
The backlash eventually prompted Amber to delete the tweet altogether later that same day.
This morning, however, she followed up by sharing her thoughts on the incident, indicating that she didn't see anything wrong with what she said — and that, at the very least, people shouldn't be expending anger or energy over it.
'With this human rights crisis being so politicized, it is hard to make a simple statement w/out it being used to distract from the real issues,' she wrote. 'Its hard for everyone to not be negatively affected by this subject n some way.'
Speaking out: The actress wrote in a follow-up tweet that 'raids, fences and police-state like checkpoints don't feel like the "land of the free" our immigrant ancestors built'
Speaking out: Amber was one of several celebrities who protested the Trump administration's family separation policy in June. She is pictured at the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry in Texas
Though who criticized Amber in the first place seem unmoved by her response, and have continued to call out her 'white privilege'.
'Knew you meant well... But sounds like something Trump might say. Ha,' someone told Amber in response to the 'nannies and landscapers' tweet.
Another person replied: 'I see the remnants of a joke in this but it is not working...', while yet another Twitter user wrote: 'This is racist and disappointing.'
'I can see where you were going but somewhere along the way you took a wrong turn. Delete this sis,' someone else told the actress.
'Can this sound any more 1950s white privileged? These professions aren't just for immigrants nor do they need "white chaperones" as a safety net. You could have worded this better,' one Twitter user wrote.
Some gave her the benefit of the doubt, writing that she seemed to have the right sentiment, but went about expressing it poorly.
Others mocked her for trying to sound 'woke' while stilling saying insensitive things.
Reactions: She appears to have been trying to demonstrate that immigrants are essential to the workforce
Backlash: But her initial tweet did not go down well, and several other Twitter users deemed it 'racist' and insensitive
Responses: Several Twitter users tried to warn Amber that her tweet came off as tone-deaf
One person suggested Amber might have been trying to bash other Hollywood A-listers in her tweet, writing: 'Maybe I'm misreading this tweet, but she’s not stereotyping Mexican people, she's calling out her fellow Hollywood white elites that'll hire Mexican workers for dirt cheap etc?'
'Yeah... Yeah she worded this wrong but I don't see any other rich famous Hollywood elite posting checkpoints,' someone else wrote in reaction to Amber's tweet.
'Even when the privileged try to help it comes off as racist... Granted she might have helped somebody tonight.'
Theory: One person suggested Amber (pictured) might have been trying to criticize other Hollywood A-listers with her tweet
Others, however, were left baffled by the tweet, such as one person who asked the actress: 'Wait... what the f**k did you just say? LOL.'
Though that particular tweet didn't go over well, Amber has continued to criticize current immigration polities. She also wrote: 'Checkpoints on your home streets.... Is this the “great” America we’re aiming for? Raids, fences and police-state like checkpoints don’t feel like the ‘land of the free’ our immigrant ancestors built.'
Amber was also one of several celebrities who protested the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant families at the border last month.
She was pictured at the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry, formerly known as the Tornillo Port of Entry in Texas, with a sign reading: 'Apartheid was legal, Holocaust was legal, legality is a matter of power, not justice.'
More than 2,300 children were separated from their families under the administration's policy.
Amber's tweet came after thousands of people rallied across the country to protest family separations at the border.
Approximately 700 marches took place against the administration's 'zero tolerance' policy. Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Amy Schumer, Chadwick Boseman, Laverne Cox, Alicia Keys, and Lin-Manuel Miranda were among the celebrities who rallied.
Amber shared a message on Instagram urging others to check online to find and join the protest closest to them.