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The TV Academy Disappointingly Confused RuPaul With Another Black Emmys Attendee

Photo: John Shearer/WireImage.
The Emmys is supposed to be a time for the Television Academy to honor the best of what television has to offer. Unfortunately, the Television Academy's social media team made a mistake that left us all scratching our heads.
Tweeting from their official account, the TV Academy captioned a photo of Rickey Minor with "Shante, you stay, @RuPaul! @RuPaulsDragRace is nominated for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program! #Emmys" Except, Rickey Minor is not RuPaul.
They are two totally different people, who don't even look very much alike. If you're cringing in a corner right now, it's because this is definitely a case of someone thinking that all Black people look alike. Oh boy.
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This mistake is especially embarrassing, considering the RuPaul won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Host this year and last year. RuPaul also starred in a pre-recorded segment with Stephen Colbert, in which he played Emmy, the star of the statuette (video is below).
They eventually correct their error, but not before some said exactly what we were thinking.
Rickey Minor, in case you don't know, was the bandleader for Jay Leno at the Tonight Show. He was also the music director for American Idol, the Super Bowl, the Grammys, and has worked with stars like Beyoncé and Whitney Houston. Talk about a stacked resumé.
Yes, it is probably just a mistake by a busy, stressed-out social media director, but this emphasizes a few things. First: check, double check, and triple-check anything that you put out into the world. Second: have someone else check your work, ideally a person of color, when you're dealing with people of color. And most importantly: apologize when you make a mistake. Even on social media. Especially on social media. People will be happy that you've acknowledged your mishap.
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