Maci Bookout Reacts to Cheyenne Floyd Racism Incident: White People Like Me Need to Do …

These days, the Teen Mom franchise is often criticized for being overly concerned with petty feuds among the cast, and the problems that can accompany reality TV stardom.

But the show has a history of tackling tough topics, and it returned to form this week when Maci Bookout engaged in some serious self-reflection after witnessing a disturbing incident.

On the most recent episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Maci revealed to a friend that a cast trip to Florida had gone horribly awry.

During lunch with her friend Raj, Maci revealed that her co-star Cheyenne Floyd became the victim of racist harassment when the group attended a rodeo.

Maci Bookout says Cheyenne Floyd was recently harassed by bigots. (Photo via MTV)

“People were telling Cheyenne to go home. Like, she talked to us afterward. She felt unsafe. She was so distraught but really holding it together,” Bookout recalled.

“I think for me I just took away like big time just, it’s not her responsibility all the time to just sit and deal with it and carry it the whole time.”

Maci went on to reveal that the incident impacted her deeply, as it led her to reflect upon her own unconscious prejudices.

Maci witnessed something shocking during a recent trip to Florida. (Photo via MTV)

“It’s just retraining my brain to not just be a privileged white person that doesn’t have to deal with it,” she told Raj.

Maci said that she realized she hasn’t done enough to address the problem of racism in America.

She told her friend that after learning what Cheyenne is forced to endure on a regular basis, she’s resolved to take a more active approach.

Cheyenne Floyd was recently harassed by bigots. (Photo via MTV)

Bookout said that she plans to speak more candidly with her children about the realities of racism and white privilege.

“I do notice things that I need to be better. I mean we have conversations with our kids but not the younger ones,” she said.

“I’m just trying to think of age-appropriate ways to keep the conversation open.”

Cheyenne Pic
Cheyenne doesn’t look too happy here, does she? (Photo via MTV)

“I feel like every room I walk in I’m the only black girl and everyone turns and looks at me,” Floyd said during the trip.

Later in the episode, she observed that her co-stars sometimes seem blind to the prejudice that surrounds them.

“Why is it that I’m the only f–king person who sees all the f–king confederate flags? Why am I sitting there? You saw it. I saw it. So what the f–k?” she said at one point.

Cheyenne In the House
Cheyenne Floyd deals with problems that her co-stars don’t have to worry about. (Photo via Instagram)

After leaving the rodeo, Cheyenne seemed upset that her co-stars were oblivious to her suffering.

“I don’t think I want to go back in there,” she said while sitting outside the venue

“I thought it was because of gunshots,” Maci said of Cheyenne’s absence.

Maci Bookout on the MTV
Maci Bookout on a recent episode of Teen Mom OG, the show that made her famous. (Photo via MTV)

Floyd was recently shot at, and it seems that Maci thought her distress was a result of trauma from that incident.

To her credit, when Maci realized what had happened, she was apologetic, and she took steps to address the issue of bigotry in her own backyard.

Maci might have acted late, but that’s better than not acting at all, and fans were quick to praise her for her corrective actions.

Maci Bookout Opens Up
Maci Bookout says she’s a changed woman after witnessing what Cheyenne Floyd is forced to endure. (Photo via MTV)

“I love how Maci & Taylor has these conversations with their children, it’s beautiful and more white counterparts need to do the same…” one viewer tweeted, according to UK tabloid The Sun.

“I appreciate Macy attempt to teach her children about race, racism and humanity. Many people aren’t doing that.”

Interestingly, Florida resident Briana DeJesus, who helped to plan the trip, revealed that she’s never encountered such prejudice in her own life.

Briana DeJesus in 2021
Briana DeJesus looks rather concerned in this photo from Teen Mom 2. (Photo via MTV)

“Me personally, I am Hispanic and I’ve never been in a situation where I felt like racism affected me so I feel like it’s not my place to say anything.

“I do have an African American daughter, Nova, and you know Stella also and we’ve never experienced it yet and I don’t know how to handle it or approach it when that time comes.”

Clearly, the cast of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter learned a lot this week — and hopefully, the same can be said of the show’s viewers, as well.

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