Waymond Wesley II, the Black Houston prosecutor condemned for his long list of misogynistic tweets targeting Black women, has resigned.
According to Click2Houston, Waymond Wesley II, a TikTok star chef working in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, has resigned after a long list of his “racist” and “colorist” tweets surfaced, showing him trolling, targeting, and disrespecting Black women online.
Outrage spread from the Houston area to nationwide platforms, causing the star chef to go viral in ways much different from his popular oxtail pasta recipes.
“I know that this has been a painful time for many. The situation has remained complicated offline, but I want to offer the much-needed apology and context that I have wanted to share since the day my past tweets garnered attention,” Waymond said in his resignation letter posted online Tuesday.
In tweets from 2015 and 2016, Waymond, a Black man himself, writing under a now-deleted account, @WaymoTheGod, posted a barrage of body-shaming, colorist, and racist tweets about Black and fuller-figured body types. He also compared Black women to garbage.
Twitter users called the tweets colorist, anti-Black, and misogynistic.
According to the State Bar of Texas, Waymond had been licensed to practice law since January 2021 and joined the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in March 2021.
Even though the controversial tweets were released after he became an attorney for the DA’s Office, people questioned if he’d be able to treat Black women with fairness in a court of law. Many pointed out that if Waymond were truly a changed person, he’d have deleted those negative and belligerent statements against women of his own race.
Candice Matthews, with the Rainbow Push Coalition, Quanell X, chairman of the New Black Panther Nation, and members from the Brazoria County NAACP, Houston Rising, and other civil rights organizations held a press conference calling on Waymond’s boss, DA Kim Ogg to remove him from his position.
Kim Ogg, however, stood by Waymond’s side, releasing a statement saying her office felt his comments were a thing of the past.
In response, Candice had a strong message for Kim.
“In 2024, we will find you at the polls,” she said.
She then led the crowds in a chant: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, this sexist prosecutor got to go!”
𝟭/𝟰 Waymond Wesley has resigned his position with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Wesley was hired in March 2021, but was only recently assigned as a prosecutor in the Misdemeanor Trial Bureau, where all of his cases were supervised by a senior prosecutor. pic.twitter.com/SBA3I1hUH8— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
𝟮/𝟰 At the time of hiring, the DAO was unaware of a series of disparaging & offensive comments Wesley had posted on social media years earlier. When the office became aware of the posts, it was determined he could no longer effectively prosecute cases and he was reassigned.
— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
𝟯/𝟰 Wesley apologized for his offensive comments and explained that they came during a period in which he was struggling with serious personal issues, including alcohol addiction, from which he is recovering.
— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
𝟰/𝟰 In his resignation letter, Wesley noted that “it has grown clear that my presence is becoming a distraction,” and he and the office mutually agreed that it was in the best interests of his career and the DAO that he resign.
— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
Here are some of the reactions to the news:
Black men built large followings between 2010-2016 by being misogynistic, colorist & downright nasty to Black women cause at one point, that was an EASY way to build a platform. Then they took a break & came back as feminists, chefs, lawyers, & “I love Black Women” accounts.
— I appreciate you. (@DeeLaSheeArt) January 8, 2023
and
So Waymo the God from thighs out mafia rebranded as a chef that loves Black women?
— I ❤️ Jews, Please dont close my accounts. (@LaCienegaBlvdss) January 8, 2023
and
Not you being Waymothegod, and thinking by changing your name you gon do a crazy rebrand. The North remembers. We don’t give a fuck if you a chef now. You gon always be misogynistic and sexist. Foh. https://t.co/j2EwcLmHrH
— The infinity Gawklet (@TAN1AAA) January 8, 2023
and
@ChefWay__ was a wild human before the rebrand. #ChefWay anything but Black. #WaymoTheGod #BlackTwitter #BlackWomen #Muslim pic.twitter.com/PRWD4Jdxdl
— KanyeF*t (@DeepInIttt) January 8, 2023
and
it’s crazy how you can rebrand yourself on social media. and to that waymothegod guy to just say “i made significant changes” yet he couldn’t properly apologize for his bullshit is crazy af.😟 mofo projected his self-hate issues for years and couldn’t take accountability. https://t.co/xstgaIqJy9
— pull up in illonka 👻 (@Jwayy23) January 10, 2023
and
I would never trust Waymothegod aka @ChefWay__ to prepare meals where we black women may be the recipients. He’d spit in it or worse.
— alissonraw (@alissonraw) January 10, 2023
and
Upper right-hand corner is Chef Way’s tweet about a Black woman breastfeeding her baby. This is when he was calling himself July Alsina @Waymothegod. Breastfeeding women unite and cancel Chef Way! pic.twitter.com/qh3bGNGVov
— trina johnson (@trinaj) January 16, 2023
and
#ChefWay history of #colorism #misogyny & anti blackness known to The Harris County DA’s office before hiring him. #WaymondWesley #Waymothegod pic.twitter.com/Rxblz8Q1RK
— The Gworls Are Fighting (@baddietvv) January 14, 2023
and
me watching @KimberlyNFoster read this dumbass waymothegod to FILTH!!! Kim i would go to war for you 😂😂😂😂😂 love you so much pic.twitter.com/X3JAWAJXgM
— FREEFALL (@Utadaaah) January 25, 2023
and
Me after searching for “ waymothegod black ” https://t.co/hHrCnPC6Fa pic.twitter.com/hpaJZKNH66
— Ricky Spanish 🇳🇬 (@RickySpanishr) January 9, 2023
and
You can’t erase shit off the internet lol Waymothegod you cookin now?!? https://t.co/LUoXcCVBiX pic.twitter.com/RcZJ7bfJKU
— 😗 (@Tyshaun_Tiger) January 8, 2023
