On Tuesday, it was announced that Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were fired from Vanderpump Rules for appalling racism.
Now, 90 Day Fiance star Ashley Martson says that Jax Taylor is due for a reckoning for racist comments the he made about her husband.
Ashley Martson shared a throwback screenshot from Instagram.
Vanderpump Rules star Jax Taylor had left a comment on one of their earliest posts.
"Your man's nose is the size of his head," Jax had written.
This was not only a cruel thing to say, the racism behind Jax's insult is palpable.
"Did y’all see bravo fired four cast members?" Ashley now writes on Instagram.
"Well @bravotv," she suggests, "don’t leave out old Jax Taylor."
Ashley says that it was Jax "who harassed us when our show first aired."
No one should write hateful, racist things in comments, but for a public figure to do so to brand new reality stars? Yikes.
"If you don’t understand why I find this racist please watch my story," Ashley recommends. "Education is key."
On her Instagram Stories, Ashley provides just such an education.
"When your nose or my nose is referenced as large, it's probably just a large nose," Ashley explains.
"Black people have been historically [compared] to an ape or monkey," she adds, "meant to be derogatory."
"One of the most well-known racial stereotypes is referencing a black person's nose," Ashley correctly points out.
She then suggests, in a politely confrontational manner, that she could refer to literature on the subject.
"For those of you who don't get how it's racist," Ashley adds to the caption, "get educated."
That is good advice for anyone.
This is one of those "when is a nose not just a nose?" situations.
As Ashley says, many people might get told that they have a "large nose" without it meaning anything other than a rude jab.
However, as she points out, it is a racist microaggression against black people that goes back centuries.
In fact, the word history is very relevant to this topic.
We should point out that it has long been speculated that white European archaeologists deliberately damaged Egyptian sculptures to destroy the noses.
While there is ample evidence of archaeologists modifying their findings to hide both black and LGBTQ+ history, that is not the case here.
Noses on statues of previous regimes were deliberately destroyed to deface them and thus rob them of their cultural and spiritual power.
Still, the fact that people wondered if the noses were destroyed to erase black history tells you how iconic black noses are.
Dehumanizing art and stereotypes that portrayed black people as lesser and animalistic was used to "justify" the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.
Those same caricatures were sued again after slavery was abolished during the decades of segregation.
To this day, racists who want to debase a prominent black person will use these same "dogwhistles" in portrayals of them.
For Jax to do that is ... well, it's frankly unthinkable. This was not long ago. He should have known better.
There are many very fair statements that one could make about Jay Smith.
In fact, we previously recapped Ashley Martson and Jay Smith's entire marriage timeline.
There is a lot of cheating and bad behavior on Jay's part.
If someone wants to "have a go" at Jay, they can pick at anything that he's done.
Going after someone's appearance should always be off-limits, especially when it comes to repeating racist microaggressions.
But also, you know, period. Go after someone's character, not their looks.
And in Jay's case, there's really nothing in the looks department that you could honestly attack.
The dude posts more thirst traps than most 90 Day Fiance stars, and those traps are pretty effective at ensnaring fans.
Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens, and Brett Caprioni will not be returning, Bravo has announced.
We do not know if Jax Taylor will be next, but that does not mean that Ashley's callout isn't justified.
We can all recognize the history and weight of words and avoiding using those that reinforce white supremacist values and power imbalances.
Love that Ashley and Jay are back together or not, but don't be racist about it.
