Controversial influencer Logan Paul was criticized after making a bizarre confession on a recent episode of his reality show Paul American about women and wokeness—yes, you read that correctly.
For the political right, "wokeness" or "wokeism" generally refers to a left-leaning perspective that acknowledges the widespread existence of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination in American society.
Advocates of this viewpoint assert that addressing these systemic biases requires ongoing vigilance and policies that consider identity and historical disadvantages. However, conservatives often employ the term "woke" to criticize a broader spectrum of liberal ideas that they perceive as detrimental to historically privileged groups, meritocracy, and religious freedom.
Enter Paul: on the most recent episode of his reality show, he was shown coming to terms with the fact that his wife, model Nina Agdal, was pregnant with a baby girl last year.
Then he said this:
“Thinking about having a daughter, my mind went to some dark places, dude. I don’t want to come across like a woke a**hole, but like, dude, women have it hard. Women have it f**king hard. And I empathize with them.”
You can hear his remark in the video below.
Considering women's rights have been under attack under the Trump administration—and for centuries and centuries past—it sure is something to hear a man say this as if it's somehow profound.
He was swiftly criticized for his remarks.
Perhaps Paul finally paid attention to something like the fact that in 2022 the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right for women to have abortions.
Or maybe he somehow heard that just a few weeks ago Republicans came under fire for sponsoring the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which could make it more difficult for married women who took their husband's last name to vote.
Either way, you're late to the party, Logan. Do you want a medal?