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Social media influencer Christina "Tinx" Najjar has come under significant public scrutiny after a few of her problematic tweets resurfaced on the r/tinxsnark Reddit thread. These tweets included blatant fat-shaming of Kim Kardashian and others, and barely concealed xenophobic comments over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issue was amplified further when journalist Sophie Ross called her out over these tweets on April 23 in a Substack post titled 'We Need to Talk About Tinx's Old Tweets.'
Following the outpouring of backlash, she felt compelled to address the controversy and issued a long apology on her Instagram on April 24, claiming she was "ashamed and embarrassed" upon revisiting her tweets.
Tinx posts long apology on Instagram
The TikToker built a large following on her social media platforms, comprising of 1.5 million and 478k followers on TikTok and Instagram, respectively, by marketing herself as the resident "big sister" on TikTok.
Her fans were naturally dismayed at the clear dissonance between the person she projects herself to be - accepting, loving, body-positive - and the Tinx in these tweets.
The 31-year-old started the apology by saying she was "beyond embarrassed" and that she wanted to "take accountability" and "own it."
The statement read:
"About 10 years ago, I sent some truly nasty, mean, horrible tweets. I called people that I had never met fat, pathetic, and ugly. I even called Kim Kardashian fat, which is ironic considering she is my number one idol and person I look up to. When I read the tweets back, I am ashamed and embarrassed. They are mean spirited, and I am not mean-spirited—but I used to be."
She continued:
"Let me tell you about the girl who wrote those tweets. I was 21, and deeply, deeply insecure. I hated myself and had a bad relationship with my body. I was also extremely lost. I've told you guys about that before. About being so lost and wanting to find a passion and find my voice. So, I tried on many hats, one of which was mean tweeter to get a laugh. And it's not funny at all. Only insecure people punch down. And only deeply insecure people try to make others the butt of the joke."
She concluded her apology with the statement:
"Being mean is not funny, it's just plain mean. Hurt people hurt people and I know my words caused hurt. If you've been following me for even a little bit you know that they are not representative of who I am. I am very sorry. I am a work in progress."
Though many were quick to accept Najjar's apology and lauded her for learning from her mistakes, some fans were not won over by it. They were quick to point out how the influencer only apologized for the older tweets and kept suspiciously mum about the other recent xenophobic and misinformation retweets from 2020 about the pandemic.
Fans also demanded accountability for her transphobic misgendering of Caitlyn Jenner and for her masquerading as a liberal after some of her tweets were indubitably in support of Republicans Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. It remains to be seen whether Najjar will address these renewed allegations.
