Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph has replied to a teenage fan who’d experienced racism within the band’s community.
In a Twitter thread posted last December, a user with the name Chey shared multiple instances of other Twenty One Pilots fans harassing them with anti-Black racial slurs.
“[I’ve] kept my mouth shut on a lot of things because I don’t like bringing negativity to the timeline but as more and more minorities in the fanbase join, this is really becoming out of hand,” Chey wrote. “A lot of y’all’s hatred towards people in particular is racially charged.”
Thursday night, Joseph replied directly to Chey in his own thread, beginning, “I am so sorry about the racism you have experienced recently.”
“I can’t even imagine what that must feel like,” Joseph wrote. “What’s worse is that it will likely happen again at some point. There are terrible people on this earth. Hurtful people. They will hide behind anonymity, they will make you feel small and less than, because the truth is, they are small and less than you.”
“But know this, we care for you, we stand with you,” he continued. “We think you are invaluable to this fan base…I want you to know that the collective whole of this fan base, [drummer] Josh [Dun], and I are with you.”
“Racism is evil and I want this clique to be the most inclusive clique that ever was,” Joseph concluded. “Stay strong.”
Chey later replied, “I’m so thankful thank you for everything and thank you for being here @tylerrjoseph.”
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