The NWT’s Department of Education, Culture and Employment has apologized after using a meme associated with a Dave Chappelle character to promote Indigenous Languages Month.
The character, Tyrone Biggums, first appeared on the Comedy Central series Chappelle’s Show some 20 years ago.
Biggums is addicted to crack cocaine. The meme, which usually begins “y’all got any more of,” features a still of Biggums and riffs on the character’s addiction by replacing crack with whatever the user’s looking for.
Step forward the Government of the Northwest Territories, which published on Facebook a Biggums meme that read: “Looking for those Wı̀ılı̀ıdeh classes!”
The post was part of a meme contest for Indigenous Languages Month, which celebrates the NWT’s nine official Indigenous languages. The department did not appear to have created it, but did select it for promotion on Facebook earlier in the week.
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By Saturday, the meme had been removed and an apology issued.
“The Department of Education, Culture and Employment wishes to apologize for a meme that was shared as part of the Indigenous Languages Month meme contest,” the replacement post stated.
“This contest was intended to create an engaging way for residents to connect on language learning journeys and highlight the importance of language revitalization. The department became aware that one of the meme entries that was shared featured an inappropriate character and removed it immediately.
“We apologize for sharing it and for any hurt it may have caused. Our social media channels are meant to be a safe space and we will ensure this error does not happen again.”
The Steve Buscemi “how do you do, fellow kids?” meme could not be reached for comment.
