Listen, we love Laney. We really do. We love her so much that she was in our first editorial. Remember how bomb she looked? Yeah, well, a slew of you sent us a picture Laney posted that we cannot ignore. If we are going to stand for women of all races, sizes, and ethnicities, we also have to call out issues when we see them.

Fighting for body positivity is not always positive. We’d be lying to you if we said it was all sunshine and rainbows.

So, enter our sadness and frustration when we watched a bunch of you send angry DMs about Laney’s use of the word “c**nky.” I won’t be writing it out because I have had numerous friends tell me it feels like me getting called the n-word. We are about do unto others at the Riot, so you’ll have to look at the IG for yourself.

Laneyyyyyyyyyy. WHY. We get you’re feeling good. Today was beautiful in New York, but that’s not a reason to use a racial slur to describe how you’re feeling. The face palm is so, so real right now.

Please do us, yourself, and the public a favor: recognize that using that word to describe yourself, especially when your eyes are half closed, is problematic. That word was used to describe people as they were being gunned down in their own countries and thrown into detainment camps. It’s ugly, and we shouldn’t use it. It’s clear that the people who saw this felt the same.

We know how fabulous you can be; so stand up for what’s right. Apologize, learn, and move forward. We all do things that aren’t right. The true test is what we do afterwards.

UPDATE:

So we’ve moved past sad into the territory of, “Seriously?!”

The true test is what we do afterwards. Of course we want the word c**nky removed, but where was an apology? Deleting the word and the comments of the people who call you out does not make things okay.

Education makes things okay. Recognizing mistakes makes things better. Not covering them up and moving on like no one was hurt.

Words have power. Recognize when you use them poorly and work to make things better. We’re bummed, but more importantly, there’s a fire under our butts.

We are even more determined to find women who celebrate all women, to fight injustices when we see them, and to create a safe space for all of you in your beautiful diversity. We have to do better.