A sixth-grade black girl who accused three white male classmates of pinning her down and cutting off her dreadlocks last week at a private Christian school in Virginia admitted Monday that she made up the story.
Amari Allen, 12, initially claimed the event happened last Monday during recess at the hands of a group of boys she said had been bullying her since the start of the school year in August.
“They put me on the ground,” Allen told The New York Times in a Friday phone interview. “One of them put my hands behind my back. One put his hands over my mouth. One cut my hair. They were saying that my hair was ugly, that it was nappy.”
Monday, however, Allen confessed she had cut her own hair off and made the story up that was quick to garner national headlines.
“To those young boys and their parents, we sincerely apologize for the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused,” Allen’s grandparents wrote in a statement to the Washington Post. “To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school. To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust.”
Many outlets that jumped on the fictional tale have issued follow-up stories to correct the record, noting Second Lady Karen Pence teaches art part-time at the school. Pence has been razed in the media for teaching at a Christian school, because the left now considers Christian teachings on sexuality bigotry. Other private schools have even refused to play sports against Immanuel students for the same reason.
Most outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN have each written updated stories linked to their original reports published last week. Some reporters also sought to correct the record, deleting previous tweets now known to be untrue. Mike Wise, a sports reporter in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area deleted a previous tweet saying last week’s episode should be the nation’s number one story.
This is sad on many levels — not just for kids, families and school involved. It's the unintentional consequence of using a 12-year-old's confession about making up an assault story to dismiss others' genuine trauma – while giving credence to the warped: https://t.co/PywVphYo0t
— Mike Wise (@MikeWiseguy) September 30, 2019
Again, the 6th-grader who accused 3 boys of cutting her hair after pinning her down at a Va. school playground said Monday assault didn’t happen. She says she cut her own hair. In a nod to families affected and girl's image, taking several Tweets down https://t.co/PywVphYo0t
— Mike Wise (@MikeWiseguy) September 30, 2019
