24 thoughts on “todrick hall got support in a place he’d be accepted?”

1. I can’t relate to him.. I’m not into the things that he usually endorses. Drag, theatre, ballroom culture etc. isn’t my thing. Nothing personal against him though, I don’t dislike him or anything.

   I also can’t get behind a gay black man that isn’t around other gay black men coming up, it just gives me the vibe that you’re just pandering to those of lighter skin and makes me feel like the only “black” thing about you is your skin tone. Yes black people aren’t monolith but you might as well get a white person doing blackface if all we are left with is Todrick Hall.

   Also, I’ve noticed that those muscular men don’t really go far because they lack substance. Many of them think that their chiselled bodies and sex appeal will carry them alone. Which is never the case. They are a dime a dozen and the only people entertaining their pockets are people who want to have a good time at 2am. Most of them are extremely narcissistic which is a turn-off but also are just boring too. Gay black men entertain them because they have sex appeal. Masculinity is also held to such a high regard in the black community so go figure.

   In general, muscular men get the most attention in the gay community. Its the same with White and non-black gays. They generally fawn over “masculine” muscular men. In their case mainly just happens to be white.

   Todrick may not be for many of us, but he has his niche and he is doing what he does to appease them because he needs to eat. He has substance and he is talented. He is an entertainer after all and its clear that he is a hard worker. More power to him.

   1. @Endless – agreed! I can’t relate to him either. And that does not translate to wanting him to fail.

2. Authenticity vs Point of Access

   Let’s look at your list and even expand it a little:
   Beyoncé/ Jay Z (black relationship, 10 years)
   Oprah/ Stedman Graham Jr (black relationship,32 years)
   Will Smith/ Jada Pinkett Smith (black relationship, 21 years)
   Sterling K Brown (the new Hollywood it man even over Michael B Jordan if we’re to be honest)/ Ryan Michelle Bathe (black relationship, 11 years)
   Obama/ Michelle Obama (black relationship, 26 years)
   Kendrick Lamar/Whitney Alford (black relationship, 14 years +)
   Lebron James/ Savannah James (black relationship, 5 years +)
   Denzel Washington/ Pauletta Washington (black relationship, 35 years)
   Samuel L. Jackson/ LaTanya Richardson (black relationship, 38 years)
   Viola Davis/ Julius Tennon (black relationship, 15 years)
   Angela Bassett/ Courtney B. Vance (black relationship, 21 years). Even Rihanna was with Chris Brown and that didn’t work out for obvious reasons and now she’s out exploring her options, she may be a little color struck but I’m not mad at her.

   When we look at Todrick Hall and even by extension interracial relationships are we seeing something that is truly authentic or are we seeing someone who is pandering to white people in order to gain access to capital or an image of success. In the short term everything seems to work out, but what does the long term look like? Todrick has a little social media buzz now, but is he developing a career he can maintain and sustain through the years and decades, time will tell, but I believe the answer to that question is No! When you allow yourself to become a caricature or virtual toy for anybody but in this case white people, what happens when the hot new toy comes out and now you’re dropped like a bad habit and have nothing to show for it because you sold yourself short.
   When you look at the list above it’s filled with black people who are in relationships with black people and they’re at the height of their respective games, and there is a reason for that and it’s not a coincidence. Sex is one thing but being in a relationship is another thing entirely. I believe people respect, admire, and support authenticity and while I believe in the theory of interracial relationships they don’t readily lend themselves to authenticity and instead lend themselves to scrutiny. Are they together because they share a common goal, or interest, shared experience/culture or again are they trying to access wealth, notoriety, a lifestyle, and see white people as the entry point or worst still are they running to someone else because they hate what they see in the mirror.

3. On a sidenote, Jamari are we going to get a review from you on Normani’s Tidal performance and her two new Calvin Harris singles?

   1. I’m sick of these producers doing “Calvin Harris ft Normani” mess and they’re not even on the actual track. They get more money than the actual singer. At least Timbaland will try to rap smh

      1. Calvin Harris sang on the song Summer and after that he said he will leave the vocals up to the artist he features.

4. I have always said, every black person aint “black” by which I mean just because a person was born Of African ancestry, doesn’t mean they relate to the culture associated with it, Todrick seems to naturally be very “Disney lover, everything is cutesy cutesy” so naturally he’s going to fit in more with white culture, expecting him to just Inherently relate to things you relate to just because your both “black” is the reason I think a lotta black people dnt relate to him, Our black experiences are different but I dnt that means he has shuned or denied his, i think we’d need more evidence before we can solidify that opinion……side note: did Y’all know they’re are full grown black adults that have never PERSONALLY experienced racism therefore cnt relate when you try to explain it them, real life! I’ve meet some!

   1. holy shit, THANK YOU! someone with a voice of reason. I was losing all hope scrolling through these comments.

      Ya’ll, I know you all don’t like claiming the “R” word because you’re black and black people don’t have don’t have the contextual “power” bs, but seriously…seriously… some of you guys are borderline racist, and ironically belittle people of your own race just because one damn guy chooses to be attracted to another human being who happens to be non-black?

      Loving V. Virginia must have been an awful lesson for you all to sit through in history class- not because of the discrimination but because I’m sure you guys would straight up take issue with a black woman loving and marrying a white man.

      Also…it’s Todrick Hall. The man never leaves his own head space for more than a minute. I’m not sure why anyone would really be looking to him for political insight or even more egregiously looking towards him to argue a point for or against race relations…. he’s a just-above-talent-show-level entertainer. I’m not saying his lifestyle is invalid, they just seem…inconsequential to the wider community.

      But keep burning that torch

5. Well, guys like Todrick can turn out like him or Donald Glover.
   Donald has a show called ATL with a predominately Black cast and a very Black storyline. He’s married to a White Woman. He made This is America.

   Donald had other Black people around him..LIKE him most likely.
   Todrick has likely other races.

   You are who you surround yourself with.

   I admit I go for guys like Todrick and Donald because they’re both creative. Todrick started out doing flash mobs for Beyonce in Target. Donald was a writer on The Office.

   They carved out their own lanes with no role models and that’s to be admired.

   I literally just had a conversation with such a person and I initially was turned off by his anti-Blackness, but he is relentless in wanting to be around me.

   Hopefully I rub off on him and he’s more Donald than Todrick. You can be mainstream without selling out.

   Junior from Black-ish comes to mind. However, Black people have to take responsibility. I got offended at some things this person said and instead of correcting them, got upset and distanced myself. There’s no mandatory course on how to be Black without selling out.

   I learned more about being Black in two semesters of Black Studies than I did in my entire academic career. We have to educate the ones that we punish for being educated and not being into hip-hop and instead of trying to take their Black card, help them be proud of being Black.

   The smartphone was invented by a Black man. The more you know your history started before slavery, the better defenses you have for loving your Blackness than, “I’m from Crenshaw, don’t let my nice clothes fool you, we can take it to the streets”.

   Being Black us more than violence and being angry. It’s art and music that speak to a generational pain. Princes try to overthrow the king to have power. We are the original race, so of course we threaten those with less interesting cultures. We originated martial arts, TAKING a BATH, architecture, engineering… There’s a reason that the Sphinx still stands today but the nose and mouth are gone.

   If we knew actual Wakandan-like civilizations existed, we might actually see our potential and rise up.

   It’s not easy being Black in America. It’s easier to give in and sell out to feel like you matter to the majority race. The only reason White people outnumber is, is they killed us.

   1. ^powerful comment c.
      i like how you brought up donald glover too.
      he is someone who gets a lot of hate for his way of doing things.
      when he did “this is america”,
      everyone brought up his partner.

      how can someone like him,
      who is so woke,
      not have a black partner?
      that’s always puzzled me and i’ll be honest,
      it turns me off from that person’s character.

      1. They say TuPac dated Madonna and that MLK Jr was with a white woman before Coretta Scott King. I think it’s more about being chosen as the face of Black activism. Donald Glove is essentially the Will Smith of his generation. Besides Michael B Jordan, what other young Black male actors are consistently getting work?

         So I think Donald feels pressure to speak up.
         And he said in his music, “Relax Black Chick, I think that I have offended thee. Got nothing against the sistas, I just don’t think they’re into me”

         Slim Thug said Russel Wilson is corny and Cisra will leave him for someone like Future, a “real thug”.

         I personally find good credit and ambition sexy, but corny dudes aren’t as appealing as bad boys to some people I guess.I still think he could have found a Black girl. Oh well. I don’t apply it to myself, because it’s too easy to not feel good enough.

         I’m happy for kids growing up today. They have Black Panther and this “It’s Okay to be Black” movement.

         I wanted to be White, was encouraged to bleach my skin by my family and considered a rhinoplasty. I can only imagine how difficult it is to navigate entertainment and to not want to conform.

6. It’s funny how you say black people are too fickle, but let me say that all of that support he receives from white people will quickly fade the minute he says or does something that reminds them that he’s black. I mean look at Beyonce. The minute Beyonce started to make songs that promoted and portrayed black people in a positive light a lot of white people who were fans lost their damn minds..

   So I don’t want to hear anything about black people being too fickle because white people only like black people when we’re shucking and jiving and tap dancing for their approval and validation

   1. ^so basically he has to the person he is until he’s ready to end his career?

      i wonder when he had that rant about his ex,
      how did his white fans see that?
      he quickly apologized.
      they also rode very hard for him and was ready to wish death on anyone who harms him.

7. For me, it’s relatability. He’s doesn’t relate to most gay black men and when he tries… it’s always forced and completely ignorant towards our culture. Maybe we just stopped expecting him to cater to us or showcase us in a positive light. Maybe it’s because he’s friends with white gays who are racially problematic.

   As far as the criticism, I think it’s because we are tired of seeing popular/famous black gay men who exclusively date white gayz exclude black men from any form of representation. It’s unfair that he gets the brunt of it but we are desperate to be seen… and we desperately need it.

   1. ^why do you think the black vixens love him?

      todrick seems like what mainstream white america wants their gays to look like.

8. Personally for me I think he’s racially problematic. The few videos that I have seen of his seem to exploit negative stereotypes about black people. To me he seems to pander to his white audience at the expense of black people, which may come from an insecurity about his own racial identity. I may be reading too much into it, but that’s how some of his projects came off to me.

   1. ^hmm this is interesting.

      i’m all about the discussion and debate.
      i haven’t seen him past what i see on social.
      he seems to have a very strong white fan base.
      it looks like he plays the safe out gay with them.

      1. I’m not too familiar with the rest of his work, but did he grow up in musical theater? I went to an art school, and there aren’t many minorities in musical theater. He could feel more comfortable around people. Maybe?

         1. White*

         2. ^it says he studied ballet and after that worked with fantasia on the color purple.
            he has done a lot of broadway.
            so he has worked with both cultures on his rise.

            maybe,
            he tried to date blacks and they didn’t accept him?
            so he went to white males and they did?

            i’m just trying to see other angles to it.
            i like to land on a few to understand another.

   2. Braxton that was well said! Todrick is very talented, but I definitely feel like he promotes black stereotypes to appease his white audience.

9. Hey, Jamari! I just wanna take the time to publicly apologize to you for how I reacted in the Marvin Bienaime thread yesterday. I behaved unprofessionally and erratically, due to my current state of mind at the time in response to neglecting myself from the pleasures of sexual gratification. I should’ve never embarrassed you in such a way, as I not only shamed and disrespected this site but also your brand and myself. I’m simply a human being growing and longing to reach my full potential and achieve self-actualization. Although it would truly be unwise to attempt to justify my actions, I solely sorry for the comments I posted and I will try my absolute best to refrain from further embarrassing myself and this frequent users of this site.

   1. ^rr…

      i wasn’t offended at all.
      you good.

   2. *solemnly
      I apologize for the grammatical errors.

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