The Most Fragile (and DUMB) White Woman Has Responded to Matt Walsh’s Epic Troll

Back in 2023, I was contacted by a group who claimed to be making a documentary film called Shades of Justice, about efforts to address racism in the United States. They planned to interview anti-racist activists, authors and thought leaders in service of supporting the cause of racial equity. They offered me between $10-20,000 for an interview. I said let’s meet in the middle with $15,000 and agreed to participate (I have since donated that sum to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund).

When I arrived for the interview, a few things felt off. The grips would not make eye contact with me and the interviewer, who was introduced as “Matt,” appeared to be wearing an ill-fitting wig. Matt presented himself as someone new to antiracist work and seemed earnest, and his questions did not come across as adversarial. By the end, however, things got weird.

Matt asked what I thought about reparations for Black Americans. I said that I agreed with reparations but that it was not my area of expertise. He then pulled up a chair and invited a Black crew-member who went by “Ben” to sit with us, took out his wallet and handed Ben some cash. He said that if I believed in reparations, I should also give Ben cash. While some Black people have asked white people to engage in reparations by giving directly to individuals, reparations are generally understood as a systemic approach to past and current injustice. The way Matt set this up felt intended to put Ben and I on the spot. Because Matt was pushing this on us, I expressed my discomfort and checked in with Ben, to be sure he was okay with receiving cash in this way. Ben reassured me that he was, so I went to my wallet and handed him my cash and the interview ended.

I was so unsettled by the way Matt manipulated this last scene that I emailed the contact person – who went by the name of “Lee Hampton” – to explain that this scene was not an example of reparations and could mislead viewers. I asked that they not use it in the film and shared several resources overviewing legitimate systemic efforts for reparations. He assured me that he understood and that they had not yet decided whether to address reparations. He never again contacted me or answered an email.

After reviewing the sequence of events and discussing it with colleagues, I realized that they had lied about their agenda and I had been played. I spread the word on my networks. Unfortunately, last month I started receiving hateful and misogynistic emails. Some referenced the Daily Wire (Ben Shapiro’s website), which announced that the film is indeed being released. It is not titled Shades of Justice nor is it meant to support the anti-racist cause. It is a Borat-style mockumentary titled Am I Racist? and designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.

Their deception was carefully planned and well-funded. The website they had sent me was fake, as were their identities, the project title used in the legal waiver, their description of the project, and the last name they gave for Matt. The interviewer was in fact, Matt Walsh, a far-right provocateur backed by Shapiro and Daily Wire+ (and yes, wearing a wig).

The co-CEO of the Daily Wire has stated: “I can’t think of a more appropriate film for the Daily Wire’s first original theatrical release than Am I Racist? What Is a Woman? changed the national conversation on radical gender theory, effectively killing the issue and DEI is the next pillar of the woke mind virus that’s about to topple. DEI culture is one of the most toxic plagues in American life.”

Am I A Racist? is not only about me and I was not the only one who fell for their deception. Sadly, many of those being mocked are women of Color.

I have not seen the film nor do I plan to watch it, so I don’t know what they have used of my interview or how they have edited it, but if you see clips or the full film, consider the source: Matt Walsh. So, who is Matt Walsh and what is his – and his backers’ – agenda? Luckily for us, he has clearly answered that question, without shame, time and time again.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “Matt Walsh is a blogger and talk show host for the Daily Wire website. He frequently demonizes LGBTQ+ people and promotes racist and anti-transgender conspiracy theories. Walsh leads a campaign against gender-affirming health care that has targeted American hospitals with harassment and has advocated executing doctors who provide health care to transgender people. Walsh is also known for perpetuating the notion of anti-white racism, which is grounded in white supremacy, and spreading conspiracy theories about supposed campaigns of anti-white violence.” Shapiro and Walsh’s previous film Lady Ballers, is filled with misogyny, racism and transphobia. Shapiro also sponsored a film denigrating George Floyd.

This experience has reinforced for me how critically important it is to do in-depth background research before making yourself vulnerable to people you don’t know, or believing and sharing what you see online.

They will not prevail in their efforts to stop the work for racial justice.