A viral TikTok video falsely accused a woman of wearing blackface. Now, her daughter is pushing back by educating viewers about her family’s Polynesian roots.
TikToker Timmie (@stillnotdiff) posted a stitch with a video of four women dancing alongside the question, "Is the tall one in blackface?"
His criticism without looking into the women who were in the video led to a wave of backlash against the woman in question, Angela, whose daughter explained in her own video is half white/half Polynesian, Fijian, and Samoan.
The video gained enough attention that Angela herself commented on Timmie's video. She said, "Dang Timmie! You spoke too soon! Next time do some research before you make crazy accusations. My motto in life though is when you know more you do better. So now that you know maybe you can do better! Much Love. 🥰"
Daughter explained her mother’s background and genetics
Meanwhile, Angela’s daughter, Mialani (@mialaniwelling), responded in her own lengthy TikTok videos. She explained why the accusation missed the mark and that the comments hurt, even if her mother brushed them off.
In her video, Mialani said she usually ignored "dumb videos like that." However, she felt compelled to act because the women were Zumba instructors who loved posting dance clips, and her mother often received similar comments.
Mialani explained to viewers that her grandmother was white, while her grandfather was Fijian and Samoan with dark skin. As a result, her mother inherited dark skin and lighter facial features. She asked, "Do people not know that you can be like different ethnicities?"
"I’m sorry to break it to you guys. This is her skin tone year-round because she is Polynesian," Mialani said.
She also addressed other assumptions. Her mother’s hair, she said, was naturally wavy and curly, though she dyed it blonde because she worked as a hairdresser. Meanwhile, Mialani said the comments accusing her mother of fake tanning felt exhausting.
"So if you see this woman getting bullied for doing blackface, please defend her because she is not," she said. "She is beautiful. This is her natural skin tone."
Photos, reactions, and a broader conversation
After the initial response, Mialani posted another video with photos of her mother throughout her life. She said she wanted to replace negativity with positivity. "Since my poor mother is just getting bullied […] I’m just gonna post so many beautiful pictures of her," she said.
The images showed her mother at Mialani's wedding, with her children, and playing volleyball in college. She noted her mother was born in Suva, Fiji. Therefore, she said, tanning easily made sense. "No fake Tanner. This was in August," she added.
Commenters offered mixed reactions. One person wrote, "I think what threw people off is the dramatic contrast between her face/arms and the skin showing on her stomach." Still, they added, "None of this means she deserves any hate."
Another TikToker replied, "I'm Latina, so I also tan easily; the face and arms are always the darkest BECAUSE those are the body parts that are more exposed to the sun. For example, there's always a huge contrast between my face/arm and my feet, legs and stomach."
Others defended the family more forcefully. One person wrote, "People have no clue how we Polynesians, Micronesians, Melanesians, etc. can have colored eyes, blonde but black face. I cannot! 😩 hair, fair skin, dark skin, etc. Auntie is gorgeous 🌺"
The situation has since become another example of how little room there often is for nuance when identity, appearance, and social media collide.
@mialaniwelling did not respond immediately to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
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