'First Dates' Diner Claims She Was 'Born In The Wrong Race', And Is Promptly Schooled On Social Media

'Symptoms: all of the appropriation, none of the problems.'

One ‘First Dates’ hopeful wound up sparking a heated conversation on social media during the most recent episode, with a clumsy and ill-advised comment about having been born into the “wrong race”.

Thursday’s episode of the Channel 4 dating show introduced us to Ruth, who over the course of her episode disclosed that her idol was Kim Kardashian, was a big fan of Soca music and was a carnival dancer.

So far so… questionable.

Ruth on 'First Dates'
Ruth on 'First Dates'
Channel 4

Ruth then took things up a notch when she spoke to the cameras away from her date, explaining: “I relate more to black culture than I do to my own culture. I think I’ve got born in the wrong race syndrome, where I am white but I feel more black inside, probably.”

And there we have it, folks. A ‘First Dates’ diner who feels she has “born in the wrong race syndrome”.

Needless to say, the good people of Twitter were very quick on Ruth’s heels to point out why what she said was dodgy at best and full-on offensive at worst, so we’ll let them take it from here:

#FirstDates she just said that she was born into the wrong race and that she’s more of a black girl. Does she know how problematic that statement is?

— Marns✨ (@MelaMarns) May 24, 2018

Why I find it problematic is because she seemed to be basing being a black girl purely off of the ‘nice’ like music and having certain prominent features but there is more to being a black girl than that. We also go through many hardships just for being black so a white girl...

— Marns✨ (@MelaMarns) May 24, 2018

A woman said she was ‘trivialising people of colour’ and I think that that’s a perfect sum up.

— Marns✨ (@MelaMarns) May 24, 2018

O.
M.
G.

"Born in the wrong race syndrome."

IS.
NOT.
A.
THING!

GAH!

— Faintdreams (@faintdreams) May 24, 2018

This is the problem... these girls want to look like a “black women but don’t want the black woman lifestyle! IT PISSES ME OFF!! #firstdates

— Sim ✌ (@ladysimmy91) May 24, 2018

The daily struggles us black women go through. You would have no idea as you are in a white prillivage environment..

— Sim ✌ (@ladysimmy91) May 24, 2018

This White girl is appropriating black race and culture and fully stating it. And this black guy is just lapping it up. Smh #firstdates

— ThroughThisMind.com (@LongForLaz) May 24, 2018

Those types of comments are really problematic. The black experience is more than dating black men, twerking and having a fat arse. She knows nothing🙄 #FirstDates https://t.co/IqraOTZkDf

— Rosie Vacci B🧡 (@rosievaccib) May 24, 2018

British mainstream TV is so trash. How can I be watching 'First Dates' on Channel 4 and they have a woman saying she's 'black on the inside' because she likes soca music and got her lips and bum done.

Proper disgusting.

— Little One. (@petitetweeter_) May 24, 2018

Born in the wrong race syndrome, eh? Symptoms: all of the appropriation, none of the problems. #FirstDates

— Nina (@manorparked) May 24, 2018

this girl has basically turned herself into a racist stereotype and then said she wants to be black what is life #firstdates

— DJ BIG GOUJIIII (@leaf_juice) May 24, 2018

A whole big pot of weird appropriation is being served for the entire of this #FirstDates date.

— Elspeth Van Der Hole (@ElspethVanDHole) May 24, 2018

omg a girl on first dates just said she feels like she has "born in the wrong race syndrome" and she relates to black culture more than her own 😷😷😷

— mojo (@manhatt4n) May 24, 2018

- ‘I think I got born in the wrong race syndrome’ ‘I appreciate black culture more than my own’ - WW. Y’all better come and collect your girl #Firstdates 🙄💆🏿♀️🤦🏿♀️

— Sham (@ShamRUOkay) May 24, 2018

"I've got wrong race syndrome" I'm not even going to go there........ 😒 #FirstDates pic.twitter.com/tUHlolr4jY

— Chanice Hird (@Chanice_H12) May 24, 2018

"I identify with black culture I feel like I was born in the wrong race"#FirstDates
Me: pic.twitter.com/e6F5WTRomn

— Wayne Cramp (@Cramp_twin) May 24, 2018

I can’t with this white girl on First Dates saying she was born in the wrong race and she’s black inside ffs 😩

— Harleen (@HarleenM2) May 24, 2018

This girl really said she has “born in the wrong race syndrome”. She said she feels black on the inside. Shes moving nuts and has nobody to tell her. #FirstDates pic.twitter.com/UdkPTk3zwV

— Perfectly Imperfect (@shaniceexo) May 24, 2018

‘I was born into the wrong race,’ this girl must be someone’s pal.. come and collect your mate please #firstdates pic.twitter.com/cDFWdNrRRw

— LondonerLou (@LondonerLouu) May 24, 2018

I have heard of people say I was born in the wrong era. I wish I was born in 50s or 60s to be fair. Maybe even earlier. But never heard someone say they were born the wrong race. #FirstDates

— Ketan V. Hirani (@hiraniworld) May 24, 2018

Super middle class white Scottish girl on first dates saying how she feels she was born into the wrong race and she’s “black on the inside” with absolutely no awareness of how offensive that is (or how she’s also appropriating and fetishising a culture) 😵

— Ruth Boyle (@ruthboyler) May 24, 2018

During her date, as the tweets above mention, Ruth also opened up about her past cosmetic procedures, saying: “The guys I go for don’t really appreciate skinny girls, they appreciate curvy girls. So I thought the surgery would make me more curvy, and make me more attractive to them.”

But Ruth isn’t the only ‘First Dates’ diner to rub viewers up the wrong way of late, after one contestant was accused of “internal homophobia” when he said he hoped the man he was set up with would be “straight-acting”.

He said: “This is a very controversial term in the gay community – I want them to be straight-acting… When you find a gay that likes football, it is like finding a KitKat that is just all chocolate and I’m like, ‘I have won this’.”

Close

What's Hot