People Are Calling For Boycotts Against Restaurants That Partner With Big Groove. Let’s Talk About It
OK, y’all, we really need to have a discussion about social media influencer Big Groove, formerly known as Groovin Gorilla.
If you’ve ever scrolled through YouTube, Instagram, Facebook reels, or the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, you’ve likely come across this muscle-bound Black man who records himself randomly busting out energetic dance moves at places where it might be considered inappropriate to start randomly busting out energetic dance moves, namely, restaurants. (Like, please twerk away from my scrambled eggs, big bro.)
So, that’s Big Groove, born Clive Ibizugbe, a “Nigerian-American entertainer who blends muscle, rhythm, and charisma into a one-of-a-kind brand,” according to his website.
Now, there was a time when I thought Black folk were being a little rough on Big Groove, who used to call himself Groovin Gorilla, which probably didn’t help much. People saw him pop up in their news feeds — this big, bulky bodybuilder in a skimpy tank top and hot pants, grinding and gyrating in close proximity to restaurant patrons and their plates — and thought he was annoying at best, and a traveling 21st Century minstrel show at worst. Now, Big Groove appears to be using his position as an influencer to promote local restaurants, which sounds harmless — until you see it for yourself.
See what I mean? The food may be good, but it just couldn’t possibly be so good that it necessitates this response.
That was Groove collaborating with Mr. “Tendernism” himself, Walter “Unc” Johnson, who we all like, unlike his guest, who really didn’t need to up jump the boogey the way he did just because the meat was falling off the bone.
It’s a bit much, my guy.
Seriously.
Keith Lee would never.
So, now, people online are doing a little more than just getting annoyed by Groove’s videos; they’re calling for restaurants to be boycotted for promoting them, either because he’s giving modern sambo vibes, or because he’s promoting an unhealthy lifestyle by filming himself carrying giant platters of not exactly doctor-recommended food, while doing what appears to be his best King Kong impersonation, which, again, probably won’t cause Black folk to think he’s a living Mandingo exhibit.
Now, to be fair, some of these complaints, particularly by Black people, at least straddle the line of respectability politics and fear of the white gaze. After all, Black joy is a thing we should encourage, especially among Black men, and there are some people in his videos who appear to enjoy his presence.
Still, the man doesn’t make Black people uneasy for no reason. One could argue that this Nigeria-born influencer is actively perpetuating Black American stereotypes that Black Americans are still fighting to push back against to this day — and he’s selling us out just to secure a bag by monetizing his content at our expense.
And, see, that’s the problem: The U.S. is so racist, and has such a long history of turning Black culture into caricature that, for many of us, what Big Groove does isn’t just annoying, it’s triggering.
Is Big Groove really that harmful? Is this a respectability thing, where we’re just too concerned about what non-Black people think of us? Does Groove represent a blind spot of Black people across the diaspora, who just don’t care how Black Americans are affected by shenanigans like his? Is calling for restaurants to be boycotted a bit much? Is what he promotes counterproductive to Black health? Or should we all just let the man live? Have people been too rough on the man, or have we not been rough enough, and do his latest videos prove just that?
These are all questions that everyone has to decide for themselves, what the answers are.
There is one thing I’m certain about, though: If I’m out to eat, I really don’t want to see Groove grooving near my plate.
Nah, bruh, I’m good.
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