‘LPBW’ Star Matt Roloff Claps Back at ‘White Privilege’ Comment: ‘What a Cruel Thing to Say’
Matt Roloff wants to help make the world “better,” but not all fans agree with how he plans to go about it. After the Little People, Big World star shared a post on Instagram urging fans to “practice gentleness” and “have compassion for all beings” amid Black Lives Matter protests, one fan accused him of speaking from a place of white privilege. However, Matt didn’t agree with that assessment — and he clapped back at the commenter.
“That’s probably the most [uninformed] thing you [could] say to another human of profound short stature,” Matt, 58, shot back on Wednesday, June 17. “Little people are not ‘privileged’ (as in born privileged) regardless of their skin color. LPs have to fight for every inch they get. What a cruel thing to say to someone who has fought hard to overcome all the adversity life has to offer … a community that struggles with so much bullying, discrimination, teasing [and] unemployment. Shame on you!”
Though some fans had Matt’s back, one commenter thought he was missing the point. “You preach about being tolerant of others and overcoming adversity, but [you’re] clearly not in support of all of the unrest that your Black brothers and sisters are going [through],” they wrote in response. “You have remained mute on the subject. Way to go not wanting to rock the boat with your core conservative audience. Practice what you preach. So disappointed with you and your family (except Jacob). You lost a fan.”
Matt may not have posted in support of Black Lives Matter, but son Jacob Roloff has been sharing resources with fans and encouraging them to register to vote, donate to bail funds and educate themselves on what it means to be anti-racist. He also shared some of the reading he’s doing, including W. E. B. Du Bois’ Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil and C. L. R. James’ A New Notion, and engaged with fans in the comments of his posts, doing his best to answer questions they had about the movement and the actions he urged his followers to take.
One of those actions included having conversations with “friends, family, colleagues and peers” to help them understand the importance of becoming anti-racist. It sounds like Jacob might be having some tough conversations with his dad behind the scenes.
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