Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
“Selling the OC” returned to Netflix for a second season over the weekend and while we were wowed by the glamorous properties and fierce fashion from the high-brow realtors of The Oppenheim Group, our jaws were on the floor over a heated exchange between Brandi Marshall and Alex Hall.
As the sole-Black person on the series, Marshall, wife of former basketball pro Sean Marshall, already has to navigate the predominately white arena of luxury real estate in Orange County, California. Now it seems she also has to contend with microaggressions from her supposed friend and coworker that felt more than a little racially charged.
In case you missed it, in episode 6, Alex Hall, who is white, defended her curious relationship with Tyler Stanaland, who is the center of drama this season as his public divorce from actress Brittany Snow plays out. With lots of fury and using her hands to gesture, Hall continues defending herself while other women in the group call out her condescending tone and body language.
Her response? She is simply “using her hands” when she speaks as part of her Italian heritage. Hall tells the group, “That’s how I am and you don’t have to like it!”
Marshall chimes in, explaining that the flying hands and aggressive tone aren’t landing well, adding that where she comes from, behavior like that suggests “it’s about to go down.”
Cue the artificial panic from Hall, who’s suddenly scared she’s going to be pummeled by this beautifully dressed Black woman who was simply telling her homegirl to chill. To make matters worse, Hall accuses Marshall of “coming at her,” asking her in front of the entire group, “Are you going to swing?”
Holy microaggression! I…
Read the full article here
