British influencer Oli London has ruffled a few feathers during a discussion with a Black woman after telling her that they identify as Korean.
The pair sat down to chat for Channel 4's Would You Rather series on YouTube to discuss transracialism, which is what London identifies as.
Transracialism is the belief that you can identify as a different race to the one you were born into.
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The debate kicked off when the non-binary influencer explained their race to her.
"I used to live in Korea for one year, I love the history, the culture and the people," they said. "I've put myself through a lot of pain, I've had a lot of surgery procedures to have more of a Korean aesthetic.
"I spent a lot of time learning the language, learning how to cook Korean foods."
London went on to explain the backlash they faced after 'coming out' as transracial.
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"People didn't really get it. Not everyone will get it but I hope over time, people will be more accepting of me," they said.
The woman they was explaining this to appeared stunned by the admission.
She told Oli that transracialism 'does not exist'.
"I can't sit up here and say, 'Oh, I'm suddenly a white person'," she explained.
"If you as a white person can sit up and say, 'Oh I can be black or I can be Korean' and I can't swap and benefit from the privilege you benefit from, then it's clearly not an equal exchange."
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London recently revealed to Sky News they had gone under the knife 18 times to look like BTS singer Park Ji-min.
Despite the extensive surgeries to align London's look with a Korean person, the Black woman hit back.
"You are not a Korean man," she said. "No matter how much surgery you do or of the aesthetic you adopt."
London disagreed.
"Nobody can take away what a minority group has been through," the influencer said.
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"But when you do combine culture...millions of people now do adopt a lot of the Korean cultural aspects, through K-pop or K-drama."
She was having none of it, and told the white influencer to check their privilege.
"'I think your skin colour has a lot to do with everything you're doing. I think you need to recognise that white supremacy is a global issue," she said.
"What you're essentially saying is you can change your race. You can't change your race."
Social media users have overwhelming sided with her comments.
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One YouTube user said: "He clearly doesn't understand that you can appreciate a culture and live within that culture, but ethnically you are not part of it."
A second said: "Oli London is disrespectful towards black, indigenous, people of colour and trans/amby people."
A third added: "Is Oli joking? Is this for real?? Totally agree with the woman, Oli is ridiculous."
Rachel Lang