The stand-up comedian and actress was an invited guest on the platform and podcast Wednesday night which is “designed to report news from the perspective of black people, for black people.”
Hosted by journalist Jamele Hill, the Trainwreck star appeared on the latest live instalment remotely, along with activists Shaun King and Tamika Mallory and retired basketball player Stephen Jackson.
The episode discussed social justice issues such as police brutality in light of the recent deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. They also focused on the controversy surrounding Christian Cooper, who recorded a white woman (named Amy Cooper) calling the police on him while he was bird watching in Central Park.
Schumer received negative comments on Twitter and YouTube when she appeared on the broadcast, and her name began trending on Twitter as many people asked why she was invited to speak.
Speaking on the Cooper incident during the episode, Schumer said: “I look like these chicks [white women]… it made me feel, to be honest, aside from heartbroken, it made me feel furious.”
She added: “She [Amy Cooper] lost her job, she’ll never have another job, but I want worse for her. Those claims could have led to real physical harm or death.”
Schumer also urged white people to “listen” when it comes to conversations about race.
“What I would say to white people is, there’s this fear of the unknown and of embarrassment,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions or of looking stupid, because what’s at stake is people’s lives.”
Thousand of Twitter users have expressed their disapproval at Schumer’s inclusion, with many branding the move “out of touch.”
One tweet reads: “Wtf is Amy Schumer doing here?”
While another added: “After Russell Brand was invited to eulogize Malcolm X, I’m over all this pageantry.”
However, some comments—of which there are far fewer—have praised Schumer’s involvement, and thanking Combs for being inclusive.
Neither Schumer, Combs, Hill, or any others involved in Wednesday’s episode of Revolt Black News have commented on the backlash to Schumer’s inclusion.
Newsweek has reached out to representatives for Combs and Schumer for comment.
Combs previously described the Revolt initiative as a “platform to report the news from our perspective, from our lens, from our people.”
He added: “We’re here with solutions. We’ve already heard about what we can’t do, but this is what we can do.”
Each weekly episode features conversations with experts, artists, and politicians discussing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the black community, with important topics including health and nutrition, personal finances, income inequality, mass incarceration, and access to education.
