'Racist Video' In Calabasas Causes Uproar

CALABASAS, CA — Two Calabasas teens are facing repercussions after a "racist video" they made last year resurfaced recently.

The two students became the focus of a social media storm Sunday and Monday after an eight second TikTok video from months ago resurfaced showing them dancing to the words “I don’t like [n-word’s].” The music playing in the video is from an eponymous song by rapper London Yellow that samples words from standup by comedian Chris Rock.

After one Twitter user reposted the video Sunday, numerous others reposted it, expressing their disgust, identifying the girls who made the video and asking people to contact their school.

One Twitter user wrote, “These two girls posted a disgusting, racist video on TikTok. They go to Calabasas High School. Video below…” The user then posted information on the Instagram accounts of both girls in the video. In a comment, the user gave the emails of Calabasas High School officials and asked readers to contact them.

Another wrote, “These two girls who go to Calabasas High School who are CLEARLY racist deserve to be put on blast. My friends and I are trying to get this to at least go on their permanent record but hopefully get them expelled or suspended.”

Officials' reaction to the postings was swift.

On Monday afternoon, Calabasas High School posted a note by Principal C.J. Foss on its Facebook page that said: “We are aware of the inappropriate social media posts by students affiliated with Calabasas High School. This behavior is unacceptable and will be dealt with immediately. We have contacted law enforcement and are pursuing immediate disciplinary action. We appreciate that when you ‘see something, you say something.'”

“We are forwarding the video and the information we have to law enforcement,” Assistant Principal Sara Exner wrote in an email to Patch. “This behavior is unacceptable and will be dealt with immediately; we will be pursuing immediate disciplinary action. Thank you for contacting us so that we can address this inappropriate and alarming behavior.”

Calabasas Mayor Alicia Weintraub weighed in on the matter Tuesday morning in a long Facebook post about racism and police violence that was co-signed by Mayor Pro Tem James Bozajian and Councilmembers Fred Gaines, Mary Sue Maurer, and David J. Shapiro . "We also condemn the sharing of a video featuring two students that has circulated on social media," Weintraub said. "Lip-sync’ing and dancing to a song with the N-word in its title is just wrong and shows an egregious lack of empathy and judgment."

In the post, Weintraub also wrote that the city of Calabasas "condemns [the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd] in the strongest way possible", and that "talking about racism is hard, but as your Mayor I want to be able to have that conversation with our community."

Los Angeles County Deputy A. Curiel of the Lost Hills-Malibu Sheriff’s Station confirmed that the school forwarded the video to its station Monday after numerous complaints from students and parents. Curiel said that one of the teens already has graduated from CHS but that another still attends the school. Curiel said the school is considering expelling her for the video, although that has not yet been confirmed by the school.

Curiel said the video was filed as a “hate incident,” which is different from a hate crime, and will not result in criminal charges.