After it in for a week, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Garcelle Beauvais is speaking up for the Haitian community. This weekend, Beauvais took to Instagram to address the baseless rumors that have spread about Haitian immigrants.
“Staying silent in the face of racism and hate is something that I refuse to do,” she said in the video. “This past week, the lies that have been spewed about the Haitian community — about my community — have been disgusting, deeply hurtful and dangerous.”
Recently, former President Donald Trump and his 2024 running mate Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, have been spreading rumors about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating dogs and other pets. The Republican vice presidential candidate first sparked the rumors on Sept. 9 ahead of the presidential debates. The following day, during the presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump emphasized these claims saying immigrants are “eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats.”
Despite the ABC News debate moderators and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine saying, “there’s no evidence of this at all,” the baseless rumor has incited threats against the Haitian community in Ohio and on social media.
“Now, this is not about politics. It’s about humanity. We must condemn this kind of hatred, this kind of racism, for anyone,” Beauvais continued in her video. “And I will not sit by and let people talk about my community in any way they want for their own gain.”
While most people know her as a Beverly Hills housewife, Beauvais reminded her followers that she has always been a “proud Haitian immigrant.” Before making her Hollywood debut in the 1988 film “Coming to America,” Beauvais moved to the United States from Saint-Marc, Haiti. From her memoir “Love Me As I Am: My Journey from Haiti to Hollywood to Happiness” to her brand partnerships, the Haitian-born actress has always been proud of her roots.
“I love my country and I’ve always been proud to say I’m Haitian,” she previously told theGrio. “Even when there were negative connotations back in the day, I never shied away from saying where I’m from and being proud of it.”
In response to these recent conspiracies, Beauvais encouraged everyone to go out and vote.
“The power we have is the power to vote, to register and vote and stop this madness, this chaos,” she said, also emphasizing the same message in Haitian Creole. “I am not going to sit by. It’s just not okay to treat people like this. We’re supposed to be uplifting each other, from our leaders to our neighbors. This has got to stop, and we have to do something about it.”