What’s up?
It’s Emile Ennis Jr. here with Clevver News and Madison Beer has issued multiple apologies
to fans after romanticizing a book that portrays an “inappropriate” relationship.
And before we get into all the details, I wanted to give a quick trigger warning because
the inappropriate relationship in the book we’re going to be talking about involves
pedophelia and sexual assault.
So please only continue watching this video if you feel comfortable doing so.
Alright, so Madison put out an apology when #MadisonBeerIsOverParty started trending on
Twitter Tuesday morning after she revealed that she “romanticized” a very inappropriate
relationship in the novel “Lolita.”
But let’s back track for a second, how did we get there?
Well, it all started when during a recent Instagram Live Q&A Madison was asked what
her favorite book is.
“what’s your favorite book?
My favorite book is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.”
But things got awkward when a fan wrote quote, “please tell me you don’t romanticize
Lolita” and here is Madison’s response…
“I definitely do, but we’re not gonna talk about that.”
And in case you aren’t familiar with why fans saw that as problematic, the book Lolita,
which has also been adapted into movies, is about a middle-aged man who is obsessed with
a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze.
Long story short, the man becomes sexually involved with Dolores, who he secretly calls
Lolita, after he marries her mother to get closer to the 12 year old.
So clearly, many fans took issue with Madison romanticizing this inappropriate relationship
like this person who tweeted saying quote, “There's nothing wrong with Madison saying
Lolita is her favorite book.
You can enjoy a book without condoning or supporting what happens in the book.
However, saying you "definitely" romanticize Lolita like it's a joke is disgusting.”
And another person chimed in saying quote, “The actual author of Lolita HATED how people
thought Lolita was a love story.
The entire point of it is to show how a pedo would view themselves and their attraction
and how manipulative and disturbing they are.
It is NOT an aesthetic, I'm so disgusted.”
And in a series of since-deleted tweets, Madison tried to explain herself.
She said quote, “People have their own interpretations of the book.
I didn’t write it.
I just like it and don’t see it in the way others might.
I’ve always known it’s a controversial book…but I’ve always said it’s my favorite.
Because I like the story…
I like dark stories…always have”
Madison also went on to say quote, “I said I romanticize it because to me it’s about
a taboo relationship, not about the age.
That’s just how it reads to me.
The movie has a much different take and I just like the storyline.
I’d never condone pedophilia y’all.
It’s a fake story and a made up book.”
But after further criticism, Madison went ahead and deleted her defensive tweets and
issued an apology.
She wrote quote, “i love u guys & i’m sorry.
i misspoke and would never condone inappropriate relationships of any kind.
i’m sincerely sorry for it seeming like i do.
let me make it clear - i do not. have a good night”
And when one fan replied saying quote, “just be careful w what u say you know, u gotta
think even longer before u speak bc of the platform u have”
Madison responded to the fan saying quote, “yes and i need to b mindful of other people’s
experiences and i apologize sincerely.
i’d never want to hurt anyone.”
Then, yesterday Madison took to Twitter again to put out a lengthier statement about this
whole situation.
She said quote, “I think I was too flippant in my answers and you deserve much more than
that.
I discovered the book several years ago and honestly I really should revisit it and read
it through a new lens.
… I have a responsibility to you all and I thank you for being there for me even for
the tough conversations.”
And Madison went on to say quote, “I see now that the book is triggering for some people
… I hope as I learn and mature and have time to study the things I love like books,
films, and art, that I can do better in bringing them to you responsibly.”
And fans have been continuing to respond to Madison’s statement sharing their thoughts
and even their own experiences like this person who wrote quote, “i'm glad u decided to
speak about it again, and i hope you know what u did was in fact wrong.
you saying that made me feel like my experiences were just an aesthetic to some, something
enjoyable when it was absolutely not enjoyable for me.”
And this fan tweeted saying quote, “madison, i think this is just a lesson that we should
be more educated on things before speaking on them.
you live and you learn, and this is a great example of that.
you’re a human being and made a mistake.
keep head up and keep moving.”
And this isn’t the first scandal Madison has been wrapped up in over the past couple
weeks.
You can click right over here for another Clevver News video where we talk about why
Madison was accused of using the Black Lives Matter protests for publicity.
And feel free to share your thoughts about all of this down in the comments below.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!