What to Know
Drew Barrymore recently shared a throwback photo to celebrate her friendship with fellow actress Cameron Diaz, but the post did not land in the way she had hoped. On TikTok, people quickly spotted a racist caricature in the background of what was likely meant to be an innocent post about their longtime friendship, understandably raising questions about why the two women were in a space that had that and how Drew seemingly posted it without realizing.
Some critics chose to give Drew the benefit of the doubt: It was a throwback photo. The two actresses could’ve been in a public place when the photo was taken. Maybe Drew didn’t see the racist caricature before posting. But even if all those things were true, people were disappointed by Drew’s silence afterwards.
Drew shared a throwback photo as part of a social media trend.
According to a video shared by @letoxicainc on TikTok, Drew’s post included a throwback photo with the caption, “When people talk about growing up together like we don’t know ball,” and then a more recent photo. In the video, the TikTok creator encouraged people to look at the throwback photo for a minute before zooming in to focus on the problem.
After zooming in on a racist mammy caricature in the background, the TikTok user said, “What is that? And the comments section is a lot more tolerant than others because it is very politely being like, ‘What is that?'” Then, the TikTok creator added, “I need context. What’s going on here? And why are you comfortable being in a room with that?”
Per several posts about the controversy on Reddit, Drew seemingly deleted the post without providing context.
@letoxicainc #drewbarrymore #camerondiaz ♬ original sound – Letoxicainc 👁️🫦👁️
People felt like “the damage was done” though.
For many fans, deleting the photo didn’t make the situation better. They were hoping that Drew would actually acknowledge the racist caricature in the throwback photo and offer an explanation. “An explanation from her would’ve been so much better than her just trying to quietly delete the post,” one critic on Reddit wrote. “When will people — especially those with large followings — learn that the internet is forever?”
While some people argued that Drew might not have noticed the racist figurine in the background, others couldn’t understand how someone with such a large following could be so careless. “I do not get how public figures can be that careless about what they post,” someone else wrote. “…is she really not vetting her photos before [posting] at all?”
Some people defended Drew and Cameron, saying they probably didn’t know why the racist caricature was in the photo either.
“Why does this need to be a callout of the people in the picture?” one person wrote in their defense. “With no helpful context, the most likely explanation is that the pic was taken in some GenXer’s parents’ or grandparents’ house. Regardless of context, the wall decor is clearly not a subject of intentional inclusion (or any attention at all) for the people in the picture.”
Others assumed that the photo could’ve been taken at a public place, meaning that Drew wouldn’t know why that particular bar or restaurant had the racist figurine. “I assumed this was at a bar, from the way Cameron is holding a cocktail and appears to be wearing a cross body purse, which you wouldn’t do at home,” someone else offered. “I don’t think she’ll have an explanation for what decor a bar they went to 20+ years ago had on the walls…and she took it down because she obviously didn’t notice it and was just focusing on the two of them.”
Regardless, many were bothered by Drew’s response, or lack thereof. “I get that it’s an older photo but I cannot stand when celebrities delete s— like the internet doesn’t remember,” a critic commented. “Acknowledge and apologize. Don’t delete it then give us some bull— PR statement in a couple of days. Seriously, can we bring back taking responsibility.”
