One couple that seems to have 90 Day Fiancé fans bewildered is Jibri Bell and Miona Bell. While there were receipts thrown on the table about the marital status of the couple prior to appearing on the hit TLC show, Miona’s “Blackfishing” has Black viewers of the show asking questions and dragging her across social media.
’90 Day Fiancé’ Spoilers: Miona Raises Ire of Viewers for “Blackfishing”
For those who don’t know what “Blackfishing” is, it’s the modern-day version of Blackface. However, it isn’t as cut and dry as darkening the skin black and painting the lips red. The practice aims for racial aesthetics such as hair textures, hairstyles that are commonly seen among Black people, the different skin tones, etc. to have a Black or Hispanic appearance when there wasn’t one before.
’90 Day Fiancé’ Spoilers: Jibri and Miona Married Years Earlier?! Also: Is Miona Blackfishing?
As for why someone would do that, that’s where the “fishing” part comes in. By presenting themselves as Black, Blackfishers seek to increase their commercial or social appeal since–at least in America–Black culture sells. Fashion, music, lingo, hairstyling, cosmetic techniques, comedy, swag–it’s all appealing in the mainstream. Plus, American pop culture is exported globally in the form of entertainment and social media.
The current and consistent example of this is often attributed to Kardashians but another widely publicized example was Rachel Dolezal who was born a White woman, presented herself and self-identified as Black, and ended up as the head of the NAACP chapter in Spokane. For reference, below is the video of the moment she was outed on television in a 2015 interview.
Now, Miona Bell hasn’t gone that far but the overarching practice of cultural appropriation is still very much an issue within the Black community—and Blackfishing falls squarely within that practice. So, it’s not surprising why Black viewers find Miona problematic.
As a matter of fact, when Jibri Bell’s wife was asked about her racial background by one observer, it’s reported that she deleted the comment so as not to “spoil” things. So, it seems that she’s planning a bombshell surprise. However, Reddit did some investigating and found photos of Miona Bell’s transformation from 2015 to the present and she’s White in the oldest photos.
It is something. pic.twitter.com/QndJrp5NBR
— Cristina 🌊🇨🇴 BLM #unapologeticliberal (@ColombianCris) April 19, 2022
Miona would later respond to the backlash on Instagram:
“I thought there is no need to clarify this because in my country we don’t nonchalantly abuse other people without knowing anything about them.”
The 23-year-old would then claim to be not only Serbian but of Mexican and Middle Eastern descent. OK.
90 Day Fiancé or 90 Day Fraud?
Miona’s Blackfishing escapades aren’t the thing getting attention. A video was unsurfaced that points to Jibri and Miona being married before appearing on the ninth season of 90 Day Fiancé. In the interview, he discussed moving to Serbia after the police shooting of George Floyd almost two years ago.
At the time of the 2020 interview, he referred to Miona his wife. There’s also the belief that TLC was aware of all of this. Even if TLC knew this or not, it negates their story on the show as it’s performative and not natural—which is the crux of reality TV. However, on the marriage front, it’s not too unusual for someone to refer to their girlfriend as “wifey”. That could’ve been the case but it’s unlikely in this instance.
The whole situation is messy but what do you make of all of this? Let us know down below!
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