Amanda Gorman has described "the reality of Black girls" after security guard tailed her

“I am a threat: a threat to injustice”

Amanda Gorman attends the Black Girls Rock! 2018 Red Carpet at NJPAC on August 26, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey.
(Image credit: Getty Images / Dave Kotinsky / Stringer)

Amanda Gorman has risen to icon status after being the youngest person ever to recite the inauguration poem at the 2021 presidential inauguration and her inspiring performance at the Super Bowl. The young Black writer is known for her beautiful, poignant poetry and activism against injustice.

Now, Gorman has taken to Twitter and Instagram to detail a horrible moment when a security guard followed her to her home and demanded to see proof that she lived there because she looked "suspicious."

Gorman said in her post on Twitter: "A security guard tailed me on my walk home tonight. He demanded if I lived there because 'you look suspicious.' I showed my keys & buzzed myself into the building."

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Her tweet continued: "He left, no apology, This is the reality of Black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat."

Gorman captioned her post with a powerful statement: ‘"In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be."

Fans and celebrities have taken to social media to express their outrage at the event. Lily Collins said: "Keep being the constant light you are. ❤️" Naomi Campbell commented: "Yes sad to say, you are changing the narrative @amandascgorman ❤️"

One fan commented on the post saying: "I’m so sorry this happened to you. Thank you for using your platform to highlight this. You continue to be a force for good in a world that must and should do better."

Another said: "A threat and proud 👏👏👏👏"

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Following the huge amount of social support she received, Gorman took to Twitter again to thank everyone for their words, saying: "I am so thankful for the outpouring of support since the incident last night. It won't change the truth of what happened and continues to happen to Black Americans, but it reassures me of what I already know: There is always far more good in this world than bad. Love, Amanda."

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Women's Lifestyle team, where she covers everything from entertainment to fashion and beauty, as well as TikTok trends for Woman&Home, after previously writing for My Imperfect Life and GoodTo. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied illustration at Plymouth University but lept into the media world in 2020, after always having a passion for writing and earned her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ.


Before working for Future Publishing’s Lifestyle News team, she worked in the Ad production team. Here she wrote and designed adverts on all sorts of things, which then went into print magazines across all genres. Now, when she isn’t writing articles on celebs, fashion trends, or the newest shows on Netflix, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping.