Amber Tamblyn believed Charlyne Yi when she accused Tamblyn’s husband of racism, and here’s why that matters

This past Sunday, comedian Charlyne Yi revealed that David Cross made racist comments to her the first night they met. As might be expected, many fans of Amber Tamblyn, David Cross’s wife, were curious about her thoughts on the matter.

In a series of direct tweets, Tamblyn said she believed Yi — and a response like this is incredibly important.

In case you missed it, Yi initially wrote,

Yi went on to say that after Cross saw she was insulted, he asked her if she was going to fight him with “karate.”

Cross addressed the accusation in a series of tweets, stating that he’d never say such things.

While he claimed that perhaps both of them were misremembering events, many people believed that his response was not an apology at all and included a lot of red flags.

Tamblyn then took the opportunity to respond to the situation via Twitter:

Despite being married to Cross, the actress in no way diminished or downplayed Yi’s experience. And this is key in today’s climate where in which many who come forward with stories of harassment, racism, and discrimination are doubted, dismissed, or shamed into silence. It is vitally important that those with privilege listen to the experiences of others who are not in positions of power — that is what allyship is all about.

Tamblyn is not to blame for what happened. But she can listen, and not be the source of more pain for Yi. She proved how important it is to take other people’s accounts and experiences seriously, even when it may not be the “easy” or “convenient” thing to do. Wrong is wrong, and denying that makes us complicit in further injustice.

We’re proud of Yi for speaking up, and we’re glad that Tamblyn is leading by example.