After a little more than two weeks, Alix Earle has finally broken her silence on a series of ASKfm posts that resurfaced showing she had allegedly made racial slurs.
Earlier this month, Reddit users published screenshots of posts Earle had allegedly made in 2014, which repeatedly include racial slurs. In screenshots of ASKfm posts, a user by the name of “Alixxxxxx” with a profile picture that appears to be Earle responded to several posts using the N-word. ASKfm is a social media platform founded in 2010 that lets users ask and answer questions “anonymously,” although many users comment using their real names and likenesses.
Earle owned up to these posts on Monday night, posting a statement on both her Instagram and TikTok stories.
Earle, the 23-year-old sensation who has amassed nearly 4 million followers on Instagram and more than 7 million on TikTok, blamed her repeated use of the word on her age. She was 13 years old at the time.
“A couple of weeks ago, screenshots surfaced from my old ask.fm account showing me using a slur in the summer of 2014. I am taking accountability and want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word,” Earle said in the statement. “That is no excuse for using that word in any context or at any age. That absolutely is not the way I speak or what I stand for.”
But what had outraged fans—aside from the use of the word itself—was that Earle remained silent for so long after the allegations were made. But Earle blamed that choice on bad advice.
“I regret how I handled this situation, allowing too many people to talk me out of saying something for too long,” Earle said in the statement. “I wasn’t sure how to handle it and unfortunately the advice I was given, although well intended, was wrong.”
Public relations and crisis communications experts told Fortune at the time the controversy began that it was indeed a mistake not to address the allegations.
“Alix Earle needs to own her mistakes and act fast: Apologize sincerely, show personal growth, and make it clear she’s committed to learning from this,” Evan Nierman, founder and CEO of crisis-PR firm Red Banyan, told Fortune. “Ignoring or downplaying the issue would only amplify the backlash and prolong the damage.”
The Alix Earle effect
Earle, who was long beloved for her “get ready with me” videos, carefree attitude, Barbie-like appearance, and party-hard lifestyle, rose to fame as a college freshman at the University of Miami. Since then, she’s landed numerous brand partnerships, from popular makeup brands including Tarte, Too Faced, and Rare Beauty, to drink brands like Poppi, for her “humor, vulnerability, aspiration, relatability, and product mentions,” Janet Balis wrote in Harvard Business Review.
She’s also a part of the Unwell brand, which includes podcasts from Earle (Hot Mess) and Gen Z and millennial demigod Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy, who just landed a $100 million deal with Sirius XM. Today, Earle is worth an estimated $6 million, according to several outlets. During college, she made $5 million in one year alone, according to Forbes. She dates Braxton Berrios, a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins.
Earle is one of those influencer figures many adore and admire—but also one people love to hate and hate to love. She’s drawn attention beyond her demographic, whether for parody or admiration. That’s why these screenshots had the internet talking, although some people weren’t shocked by the remarks she made in the past.
“Alix Earle being racist is not surprising but still disappointing,” one user posted on X on Aug. 6.
“In the absence of my addressing this, my silence allowed others to fill the void with rumors that simply aren’t true,” Earle said in her statement. “One rumor in particular is that I tried to trademark my old posts, which is absolutely ridiculous and untrue. Another is that a brand announced they are no longer working with me, even though we have never been in conversations with them about a partnership in any capacity.”
However, some people aren’t satisfied with Earle’s apology, arguing it focused on the wrong thing.
“She clearly seems more upset by the rumors at the end than what she said,” one Reddit user wrote.
“Regardless of what’s being said online, I wanted to come on here and address the facts and most importantly apologize,” Earle said in the statement.
