"Sh*t Black Girls Say" Video Goes Viral But Offends Some Black Women

A viral video has sparked a combination of laughter and outrage amongst black women. While some viewers of the YouTube video "Sh*t Black Girls Say" find it hilarious, others are offended by its portrayal of African American females.

The video, featuring comedian Billy Sorrells, was posted less than two weeks ago and already has over 1.3 million viewers. Sorrells said he had no idea the video would be so successful or cause any controversy.

"We were just trying to amuse ourselves," he told the Daily News. "We didn't expect it to be viral."

But director Elijah Griffin said although he had no intention of offending anyone, it is a sign of the video's success.

"When your work is provocative it will offend others. We don't mean any harm," he told the news outlet. "It's not a social commentary on how real life is."

The video, which portrays Sorrells dressed in drag listing "popular" black female sayings, is a spoof of the original "Sh*t Girls Say," which has over 7 million views and has spawned other spinoffs like "Sh*t Black Gays Say" and "Sh*t Asian Girls Say." Some of its highlights, and potentially offensive aspects, are Griffin's character Peaches' line "pack your Playstation and get out," and patting an itchy weave.

"While those images are funny to those of us who are well-educated, some young people don't know how to filter the message," Benita Miller, founder of The Brooklyn Young Mothers' Collective, told the Daily News.

But other women said the exact opposite.

"As a board-certified black woman, I am just going to go ahead and say I think Billy Sorells' "Shit Black Girls Say" is funny," Jezebel writer Dodai Stewart said. "Both 'duh-lete' and 'it is so hot in here' are in my repertoire. I have not yet had the good fortune to say, 'pack your PlayStation and get out,' but maybe someday!"

Despite the mixed reactions, Griffin stands by the video's comedic intent.

"To all those people offended out there--it is a simple joke," he told the Daily News. "It's made for people who are easy going."

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No way! It's hilarious.

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Comments

[seecaptain]

05:47 PM on 01/11/2012

i don't think it's offensive.
if you don't think it's funny because you can't relate, then it's good that not all entertainment is geared for the dominant white male media.
i think it's a tough situation because non-mainstream cultures often get easily accessible stereotypes, but at least this meme has covered more cultural ground and is not targeted at one particular group.
also the video sh*t white girls say to black girls is great because it allows for people to reflect on what they say and how it sounds

[lele215]

11:40 AM on 01/06/2012

Offended?? Why? That wasn't even funny. It didn't even generate a smirk.

[andrewsullar]

06:29 PM on 01/05/2012

I'm curious why people think a black woman doing a video like this about white girls is okay but that this is quesitonable.

[thinkingguurl]

12:17 PM on 01/05/2012

I guess this must be yet ANOTHER example of the term "black" being used when what is actually meant is Black (north) American because I know no black people who act like this. Wake up folks in the USA, your black reality is not THEE Black reality.
Peace.

[Tracy Jackson]

07:46 AM on 01/05/2012

I watched this vidoe and the vidoe labled as "what white girls say" I didn't find either of them to be funny. Seems to me like some peope have nothing better to do with thier time. I see where both vidoes could be offensive. I don't know of anyone who talks like either of the vidoes put off. This vidoe was obviously made by a man and the other one was made by a woman...I dont think making fun of woman is very mature no matter what thier race is. Just my opinon

[ms.understood]

07:27 AM on 01/05/2012

this is funny! not offensive to me at all.

[vball4lifealwayz]

11:47 PM on 01/04/2012

so funny

[proudamericanblkwoman]

10:54 PM on 01/04/2012

That was funny!

[Mental Revolution AWAKE]

07:34 PM on 01/04/2012

Oh, this was so funny!!! I was laughing because I've heard my sis-in-law and my mother -in-law use some of the phrases.

[wickedmercedez]

03:55 PM on 01/04/2012

i have to admit..i do find my self saying a lot of that stuff...lol

[papapj]

09:42 PM on 12/31/2011

Chortle, chortle...guffaw, guffaw!

[socialtalker]

09:29 PM on 12/31/2011

i was prepared for it to be offensive, but i must say, at most its only lightly offensive but extremely funny. i dont feel it was "mean spirited", i think he has seen and heard the females around him act and say exactly what he showed. i must say i have not noticed the "scalp pat", will have to look for it.

[OutspokenShy]

09:26 PM on 12/31/2011

I think four (maybe) of his "sayings" held true. Most of them, I have rarely heard a black female utter...

[LarsMars]

05:36 PM on 12/31/2011

That was funny.

[m-plus-e-euqls-me]

06:14 AM on 12/31/2011

I think this video is the funniest thing ever. As black women my bff and I cracked up over this. We do mostly all of these things. Its just silly little finny habits that we have. But we are both well educated women. I am in school now and my bff has already graduated with a bachelors. So I dont think that it is offensive, stereotypical or makes black women look "ghetto" or ignorant. Its just little things that women do in our culture. It wasnt bad at all. People who are offended are really nit picking! Its not like he was standing in a welfare line with 10 kids and no job and no future and made it seem like we all do that!..... That would have been offensive!!!

[Auntie Brooke McCoy]

02:38 PM on 12/31/2011

I totally agree! This is the funniest thing ever! If you are a black woman you have to be able to relate to something in that video from patting the weave (or braids in my circumstance). Screaming when you see your homegirl...(even if you just got off the phone with her before you walked in the spot). The video is funny and I cant stop watching it and laughing at it.