It was meant in good fun.
A tweet about a chubby sea otter with an eye to becoming a thing on the internet. It did, but for all the wrong reasons.
Instead, California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium was left apologizing for “problematic and insensitive” post about an otter named Abby.
Here’s the original tweet.
(It has been retweeted almost 10,000 times and liked another 35,000 times.)
Abby is a thicc girl
What an absolute unit
She c h o n k
Look at the size of this lady
OH LAWD SHE COMIN
Another Internetism ! pic.twitter.com/s5fav2gu09— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 18, 2018
The combination of apparent otter body shaming and use of African American Vernacular English proved too troublesome too ignore.
The term “thicc” has been used to describe a curvy woman. That is, fat in all the right places.
The next day, the aquarium apologized and explained.
Hey everyone. It has come to our attention that some of the references in this tweet are problematic and insensitive. We’re posting here in the thread so that people who have engaged with this tweet will join us in our learning moment. 1/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
If our tweet alienated you, please know that we are deeply sorry, and that we offer our sincerest apologies. If you follow our feed, we often reference popular memes to talk about the ocean. In this case, the memes used had connotations we were unaware of until now. 2/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
In particular, several terms referenced originated from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and specifically reference Black women’s bodies. Using them in a sea otter meme without that background makes insinuations we never intended. We need to do better. 3/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
Our mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean, and we’re thankful for your support as we try to advance that mission on social media. We’re also thankful for those of you out there pointing out our blindspots and how we can improve. Thanks everyone. 4/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
While some people applauded the facility, others thought the apology was unnecessary.
I’m offended you apologized.
— Leon Storie (@lstorie1971) December 20, 2018
Thank you for this. You are modeling how to recognize a mistake and take responsibility. You’re inspiring.
— Dr. Karen Kelsky (@ProfessorIsIn) December 20, 2018
The backlash against “political correctness” is a backlash against basic decency & courtesy. Some people see saying anything you want without fear of reprisal as “strength” and sensitivity to others’ feelings as “weakness.” 1/3
— Thomas A Jones III (@JThomasAlbert) December 20, 2018
Sigh. People are addicted to outrage.
— Harveen (@hiharveen) December 20, 2018
But about Abby.
She was rescued as a newborn on July 21, 2007 by the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Rescue Center and was hand-raised at SeaWorld San Diego, according to the aquarium.
She moved to Monterey Bay in 2012, weighing in at 44 pounds and went on to become a surrogate mother to other sea otter pups.
That weight, by the way, is in the mid-range for female sea otters, according to most marine mammal facilities.
So Abby is just right.
And, back to the original tweet.
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 18, 2018
Seariously tho, Abby is looking fit for one of the toughest jobs in the world: Raising stranded sea otter pups! She’s one of 6 resident females that train orphaned otters in the necessary skills to survive back in the wild. There’s a lot more to this sea otter than meets the eye!
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 18, 2018
Way to go, Abby!
work hard nom harder pic.twitter.com/jUXe5Vo1IM
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 18, 2018
