A podcaster has publicly apologized to rap artist Megan Thee Stallion after facing backlash for what’s been described as a “racist” comment.
Hannah Berner and her “Giggly Squad” podcast co-host, Paige DeSorbo, conducted celebrity interviews on the red carpet for Vanity Fair on Sunday during the outlet’s Oscars after-party event. The pair got to speak with Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, and one portion of that interview has since gone viral.
During the interview, both podcasters were praising the “Hot Girl Summer” singer. DeSorbo told Pete that she always starts her day with the artist’s songs, prompting Berner to say, “Your music has literally like, made me … when I want to fight someone, I listen to your music.”
“You want to throw that fighting sh** out the window,” Pete replied. “You want to get cute and be a bad b*tch.”
“When people are talking sh**, I go, ‘Turn on Megan Thee Stallion!’” Berner added, getting so excited that she started jumping up and down.
“Body-ody-ody, I look beautiful, I look so great,” Pete responded, referencing the chorus of her hit song “Body.”
TikTok commenters came after the interviewers, saying the interaction had “racist” undertones.
“This felt so racist. And they didn’t let her finish most her sentences,” one TikTok user wrote.
“Very micro aggressive. Megs music isn’t about fighting and the fangirling is a spectacle. Please hire real interviewers that know how to talk to black women as PEOPLE and not characters,” another person agreed.
“The racism is LOUD!” a third echoed.
“Lowkey ‘angry Black woman’ references in 2025? Please,” TyLisa Johnson wrote in an opinion column for Poynter.
“I’ve been a fan of Megan Thee Stallion since around 2016, when she was a young college student freestyling in cars. She has never made me want to fight. She makes me want to dance, be more liberated, stand up for myself and own my womanhood.”
The backlash became so extreme that Berner issued an apology via Instagram Stories on Thursday. “Interviewing Megan Thee Stallion was a dream of mine. I love her music and it’s my go to whenever I need to boost my confidence before a show. Looking back at the interview, I wish I used any other word except ‘fight’ to describe how her songs impact me,” Berner wrote.
“It was a careless choice of words and though there was no ill intent, I recognize and acknowledge that what I said has a deeper meaning and I am so sorry to Megan,” she continued. “I appreciate everyone who brought this to my attention.”
