Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s personal experience with racism in her place of work — the U.S. Capitol — is catching a lot of heat from right-wingers online who believe it’s just a made-up story.
Lee, a U.S. representative who has represented the state of California since 1998, went on CNN and spoke with Kaitlan Collins about former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley‘s recent controversial comments about the U.S. not being a racist country.
During her appearance, Lee talked about a personal encounter she had with a white man in the Capitol who denied her entry to part of the building because he didn’t believe she was a member of Congress.
“I was walking from the House Building on Capitol Hill to the Capitol and a man, a white guy, stopped me and told me I could not get into the members’ elevator,” she said, adding that she was wearing a pin that Congress members wear that designates their status. “He told me it was for members only. I said, ‘Sir, I’m a member of Congress’ and showed him my pin. And he said, ‘Whose pin did you steal?’”
Lee never shared when exactly this incident took place during her 25-year tenure in Congress, but right-wing proponents on X believe she completely fabricated the story and invoked the name of Jussie Smollett to attempt to make a point and draw similarities.
“I’m gonna go with this never actually happened. How very Jussie Smollett of you,” one X user wrote.
“Representative Barbara Lee has been awarded the 2024 Jussie Smollett Award. Congratulations, Barbara,” another person commented.
Some online came to Lee’s defense, calling out right-wingers’…
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