Zyahna Bryant is hired by Dove to promote 'FAT liberation' despite ruining white student's life over 'misheard' remark at BLM protest
- Zyahna Bryant, a "community organizer" and student activist studying at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, has been unveiled as a Dove partner
- Bryant, 22, posted an Instagram video in which she declared: 'Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about!'
- Bryant hit headlines in 2020 by accusing fellow UVA student Morgan Bettinger of threatening to mow down protesters: Bryant then admitted she misheard
Dove has partnered with a black activist accused of ruining a white student's life over a 'misheard' remark to promote 'fat liberation' in a bizarre and controversial new campaign.
The beauty brand has teamed up with Zyahna Bryant, a community organizer and student activist studying at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Bryant, 22, claimed that she had overheard a white student named Morgan Bettinger threaten Black Lives Matter protesters in Charlottesville in July 2020 after she used the phrase 'speed bumps' while describing the protest that she saw.
But Bryant later admitted she may have 'misheard', after gleefully watching and joining-in as Bettinger was canceled and her life was destroyed.
Bettinger was subjected to a torrent of abuse and a campaign to remove her from UVA. Staff and students ganged up against her and scuppered her future prospects.
Despite the controversy, Dove has chosen Bryant as one of their 'paid partners' - a loose advertising and promotional tie-up, similar to that Bud Light offered to trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Bryant last week posted on Instagram a video declaring she was a Dove ambassador, and discussing 'fat liberation' - a campaign to end the stigma of being overweight.
Zyahna Bryant, a community organizer and student activist studying at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, is now a Dove ambassador
'#DovePartner Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about!' wrote Bryant.
'That's why I am partnering with Dove, to support the work of @naafaofficial, @flareforjustice in the Campaign for Size Freedom.
'Tell us what Fat Liberation means to you using the hashtag #sizefreedom and tagging @dove to share your story.'
In an accompanying clip Bryant, who is proudly plus-size herself, said: 'My belief is that we should be centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized people and communities at all times.
So when I think about what fat liberation looks like to me, I think about centering the voices of those who live in and who maneuver through spaces and institutions in a fat body.'
Bryant's 27,000 followers on Instagram responded with an outpouring of support, praising her for promoting 'fat liberation' and declaring that the campaign was long overdue.
But she was roundly condemned on social media after news of her role in Bettinger's cancellation was first shared by Reason magazine - with Dove now potentially in the frame for blowback over its close association with Bryant.
The soap brand has long associated itself with woke causes pushing body positivity. Parent company Unilever's other megabrands include Ben & Jerry's, Domestos, Vaseline and Hellman's.
Earlier this year, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney's tie-up with Bud Light to celebrate a year of living as a woman triggered a furious backlash and seemingly permanent slump in sales for the beer brand.
Bryant has in recent years been making a name for herself as a BLM activist.
Her website says that she began campaigning as a child.
'At the age of 12, she organized her first demonstration, a rally for Justice for Trayvon Martin and other unarmed black lives lost to police violence,' the website states.
Bryant, 22, claimed she heard fellow University of Virginia student Morgan Bettinger threaten protesters by saying they would 'make good speed bumps,' in July 2020. She later admitted she 'misheard'
She went on to organize the Black Student Union at her high school, and join the Charlottesville Youth Council.
In the spring of 2016, she began petitioning Charlottesville city to remove statues of confederate leaders from the city, which the city eventually did.
In July 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, Bettinger mistakenly drove into a street where protesters were gathered.
As she tried to get away, her car was encircled.
Bettinger is pictured in her car during the July 2020 protest.
Protesters banging on her car, yelling obscenities at her, and making fun of her for crying as she called her mother and the police
I've seen it happen in Berkeley. There is a curious mob psychology that takes hold as "protestors" gang up on innocent drivers who happen to be in the area.
Bettinger on the phone while in her car in July 2020, as screaming Black Lives Matter protesters heckled her from outside
Bryant then embarked on an email campaign to have Bettinger expelled.
Bettinger was subsequently shunned at college, and even stalked around her hometown, making her fear for her safety.
UVA's Judiciary Committee later found Bettinger guilty, despite being unable to prove Bryant's claim.
Bryant herself later admitted she may have misheard.
Most damningly, the report found that Bryant did not hear Bettinger make the comment first hand.
No eyewitnesses were able to corroborate Bryant's version of events.
The Judiciary Committee's ruling is still noted on Bettinger's permanent record - ruining the now-graduate's chances at law school.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12516377/zyahna-bryant-dove-morgan-bettinger-charlottesville.html
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Zyahna Bryant speaking at a rally in Charlottesville in September 2020. She has been vocal about backing campaigns to defund the police
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