Adam Carolla has unleashed a blistering critique of Colin Kaepernick, accusing the activist-athlete of using his appearance as a prop in a carefully crafted racial persona.
According to Mediaite, the longtime comedian and podcaster charged that Kaepernick is overcompensating for being raised by White adoptive parents by cultivating an exaggerated image of Blackness, centered on his now-iconic hairstyle. Carolla argued that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks 26 foot Afro is less a personal style choice and more a political costume designed to bolster his social-justice branding and distance himself from his upbringing.
Hes conning people with his haircut, Carolla declared, blasting Kaepernick as a race hustler and f*ckin idiot during the Monday episode of his show. In Carollas telling, the quarterbacks transformation is a calculated effort to not look[] like a White dude while leading a crusade against what he portrays as systemic American racism.
You dont present as Black! The reason you have a 26 foot Afro now is youre trying to present as Black, Carolla fumed, repeating the line for emphasis. You dont present as Black! It drives me nuts. He argued that the visual contrast between Kaepernicks current look and his earlier years exposes what he sees as a contrived identity shift.
Carolla pointed to photos of Kaepernick from high school and college as evidence that the quarterbacks present image is inauthentic. He looked like a Syrian cab driver. He does not look like a Black guy, Carolla said, as his show displayed an old picture of a young Kaepernick on screen.
The comedian went further, saying that based on those earlier images, he would have assumed Kaepernick was from several other ethnic backgrounds before identifying him as Black. Itd take me a long time to get to Black, he said, underscoring his belief that Kaepernicks current presentation is a recent and strategic reinvention.
Carolla then broadened his criticism to what he described as a pattern among biracial public figures who emphasize their Black heritage for political or cultural advantage. He likened Kaepernicks approach to that of ex-President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he accused of sidelining the non-Black side of their families.
All Im saying is, What about momma? I thought we were empowering women here. Why is she getting f*cked? Carolla quipped, arguing that the mothers who actually raised these figures are erased from their public narratives. Kamala Harris did the same thing [as Obama and Kaepernick]. Kamala Harris got a black dad, got an Indian mom; Black dad abandoned, Indian mom raises her, and she identifies as what? Not the person who raised her!
His remarks come as Kaepernick has reemerged in the media spotlight, marking the ten-year anniversary of his decision to kneel during the National Anthem. At the time, Kaepernick said he was protesting what he called the nations racist oppression of Black Americans and police brutality, explaining that these issues left him disgusted with the American flag.
Now 38, Kaepernick told The Ringer last week that he remains proud of his protest but is not fully at peace with it. He cited the failure to defund police departments from coast-to-coast as a key reason for his lingering dissatisfaction, a stance that continues to clash with the views of many Americans who support law enforcement and reject radical anti-police agendas.
Carolla argued that there is a glaring contradiction in the rhetoric of biracial critics of the United States like Kaepernick, who insist that being Black is a death sentence in this country while simultaneously working overtime to highlight their Black identity. Why are you bending yourself into pretzels being Black, if thats the one we dont like? he asked, suggesting that the performative nature of such identity politics undermines their moral authority and exposes a deeper opportunism at work.
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