The co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles chapter slammed Taylor Swift fans as ‘racists’ and referred to Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory as a ‘right-wing, white-supremacist conspiracy’ in a series of posts to social media.
Melina Abdullah, 51, a professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State University Los Angeles, took to X, formerly Twitter, to unload her opinions on the pop singer and her athlete boyfriend over the course of two weeks.
‘Why do I feel like it’s slightly racist to be a Taylor Swift fan?’ Abdullah wrote on February 11, the day of the Super Bowl.
‘I said FEEL, not think,’ she continued when another user asked her to elaborate. ‘Kind of like that feeling I get when there are too many American flags.’
Hours later, after the Kansas City Chiefs were declared the winners, Abdullah wrote: ‘Why do I feel like this was some right-wing, white-supremacist conspiracy?!?! Booooooo!!!!’
Melina Abdullah slammed Taylor Swift fans as ‘racists’ and referred to Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory as a ‘right-wing, white-supremacist conspiracy’ in a series of social media posts
The co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles chapter doubled down on her stance, declaring: ‘Virtually everything is racist’
Abdullah slammed Swifties as ‘full-fledged violent white-delusionists’ after receiving a hateful voice message
As her posts drummed up attention from other users, Abdullah doubled down on her stance. ‘Folks think they’re attacking me by asking why I think everything is racist…I’m not offended,’ she wrote. ‘Virtually everything is racist.’
In response to one commenter, the advocate clarified: ‘And I’ve also decided to work with all my might and in a community of committed people to upend racism and oppression.’
On February 23, Abdullah returned to social media to post a voice message sent by a man who blasted her as ‘a joke,’ ‘ignorant,’ and ‘what’s wrong with this country.’
‘How dare you throw out the racist ideas you throw out on a daily basis?’ shouted the man, who identified himself as Ethan George from Texas, before proclaiming that he wished she would ‘die.’
‘If this is what a tweet about Taylor Swift fans being “slightly racist” brings, I’ll edit myself…Y’all are full-fledged violent white-delusionists,’ Abdullah wrote.
The 51-year-old is also a co-director of BLM’s advocacy wing, Black Lives Matter Grassroots.
She sued the Los Angeles Police Department in 2020 after they descended on her home during a reported swatting incident.
On August 19, 2020, the LAPD received a 911 call from someone who claimed he had taken people hostage in Abdullah’s Crenshaw home.
The mother of three decried the Super Bowl results as a ‘right-wing, white-supremacist conspiracy’
The activist compared her suspicion to ‘that feeling I get when there are too many American flags’
The 51-year-old sued the Los Angeles Police Department in 2020 after they descended on her home during a reported swatting incident, accusing them of ‘retaliation’ over her advocacy efforts
In court documents filed with California Superior Court, the mother of three said she feared LAPD SWAT officers would fire their weapons into her home and hurt her children.
She accused the LAPD of failing to contact her beforehand despite having her that contact information and claimed the department staged the incident in ‘retaliation’ for her activism.
She added that police did not actually believe the claims of an ongoing hostage situation.
As proof, Abdullah cited an instance where police allowed her security guard, whom the officer did not know, to pass through a perimeter and enter the home as they staged around it.
Two neighbors were also permitted to enter the home to check on her and walk alongside her as she walked out to speak with officers, the lawsuit claimed.
Abdullah deemed the response ‘an attempt to put down protest, to target me as someone who’s been very visible and vocal in protesting LAPD.’
She was swatted twice more after the lawsuit was announced.
In a separate legal battle, Abdullah and BLM Grassroots accused Black Lives Matters Global Network Foundation Inc. of raising donations off the work of city-based chapters and subsequently leaving activists out of decision-making.
BLM Grassroots is comprised of two dozen BLM chapters across the country, who argued that they were entitled to tens of millions of dollars from the national foundation.
However, the case was thrown out by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge last year after the activists failed to prove they were entitled to the funds among other unsubstantiated claims.
Abdullah said the group was ‘stunned and dismayed’ by the court’s dismissal order.
‘As always, the work of Black Lives Matter continues, regardless of the court ruling,’ she vowed in a statement.