In this day and age, it’s pretty self-explanatory that we should all be more mindful about what we say online.
Of course, that includes not using slurs for obvious reasons, regardless of the intention.
Recently, however, local gym chain Anytime Fitness came under fire after one of its employees posted an Instagram story with a racial slur that is widely known to be offensive across the world.
In the Instagram story posted by the Tanjong Pagar outlet of Anytime Fitness, an employee typed “Let’s gooo.!!!!! Im back n*gga..!”
And for those who aren’t aware, the “n-word” slur is a derogatory term primarily used to insult African-Americans, and it has ties with slavery from the past.
Hence, it’s considered extremely offensive and inappropriate for anyone not part of the community to use the term, and you definitely don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realise that.
As seen from the time stamp where a user screenshotted the Instagram story, it was on Anytime Fitness’ Instagram profile for at least six hours before it got deleted.
Netizens who saw the story screenshotted it and reposted it on other social media platforms, with most of them expressing disapproval over the staff member’s distasteful word choice.
Response from Anytime Fitness
Shortly after the incident on 25 May, Anytime Fitness issued an apology on the same Instagram account.
In the post, the company clarified that the image was posted by one of its part-time staff members.
Anytime Fitness also posted an Instagram story to apologise on the staff member’s behalf.
“We have taken action internally with the staff member who put up the post,” it added.
While some netizens praised the chain for “taking accountability” quickly, others noted that it is not up to the non-black community to accept the apology.
“It’s a calculated decision to type and post that slur online,” one commenter wrote.
Featured Image: Instagram (@anytimefitnesstanjongpagar)