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On Monday, September 18, the name Lizzy George Griffin was trending all over social media. On Monday afternoon, during the World Leaders Forum at Columbia University, Lizzy, a student at the university, questioned Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader about alleged racial problems in the country. Lizzy also mentioned problems of homophobia and colorism aimed at Haitian people.
Abinader replied that the Dominican Republic never really had an issue of race, except for isolated issues present everywhere, before Lizzy immediately countered fiercely by denying his claims. As the president continued with his answer, Lizzy simply walked away.
Lizzy uploaded the video of the debate to her official Instagram handle, where she has over 28,500 followers. She captioned the post, "i stand with Haiti", which had amassed over 648,000 views at the time of writing. As stated in her profile, she is a 23-year-old filmmaker who is also raising money for her "surrealist visual essay", LESBIANA: The Black Lesbian Masterdoc.
Lizzy George Griffin, already a controversial figure with her polarizing opinions of race, sexuality, and LGBTQ, completely stunned the Internet with her antics. On social media, people relentlessly bashed her for her behavior, alleged lack of education on the matter, and past comments. However, a few people hit back at the criticism and pointed out that it was only proving her point.
Here is one comment on her official Instagram post of the debate clip:
Lizzy George Griffin and Luis Abinadar engage in fiery debate
On Monday afternoon, Columbia University students lined up one by one to ask their questions to the Dominican Republic president, Luis Abinader, at the World Leaders Forum at Columbia University. Up came Lizzy George Griffin, from Chicago, Illinois, and asked the president:
"My question is, the Dominican Republic was established as the Dominican Republic after 300 years of colonial rule, which included the enslavement and massacre of imported African people."
She claimed that the legacy of slavery still lived in the "laws and practices," just like in America and other countries affected by colonialism. She further claimed that homophobia and transphobia were "racist European concepts" that were enforced on enslaved Africans to increase the number of African children enslaved for "monetary benefit."
Lizzy George Griffin talked about generational trauma from slavery and colonialism creating colorism, which she claimed was "hyper present" in the Dominican Republic. She claimed that colorism is seen in the maltreatment of Haitian people, especially pregnant Haitian people already in the country. She asked:
"What are your plans to rid the Dominican Republic of the racist attitudes of homophobia, transphobia, and colorism?"
The president answered that 85% of Dominican people were mixed race before saying that there has never been such an issue in the country. Lizzy interjected by saying that there was an issue, to which the president replied that it was her opinion, and Lizzy again interjected by saying that it was not an opinion. The moderator interjected by stating that it should be a respectful exchange of opinions.
Abinader claimed once again that they never had a problem with race before stating that there can only be a "small area" where problems can be seen, which is present in every country, including the US. After stating that such issues were unacceptable, he further stated:
"That's not a wide problem in the Dominican Republic because we are mixed race, 85% is mixed race. We are also daughters and grandsons of immigrants."
He asked:
"Could you name just one country in the world that 35% of its maternity beds are occupied by other country people?"
Lizzy replied with the United States, but the president stated that he didn't think that the numbers held true for the US. Lizzy stated that Haitian men were being forcibly removed, but the president claimed that it was not reality and that it was just her opinion. Lizzy George Griffin stormed off the microphone before the president finished his answer.
Netizens ask Columbia University to expel Lizzy George Griffin
A majority of online comments were ruthlessly directed at Lizzy George Griffin. Her antics angered many people from the Dominican Republic and other parts of the world, who bashed her for her alleged ignorance. People even demanded she be kicked out of Columbia University for her disrespect towards the president. However, amidst the backlash, a lot of people also showed her support.
Entire threads were being made about her past online behavior and controversial comments. Here is one such thread on X that revealed Lizzy's online opinions on biracial children and biracial parenting, compiled by X user @TheeEmpiire:
Apart from the Instagram post of the debate, Lizzy George Griffin has yet to provide any official statement regarding the backlash she has received. Columbia University has also kept mum on the matter and has not responded to people asking for her to be terminated from the university.
