CJ Pearson said he is taking legal action against New York Magazine for its recent “The Cruel Kids’ Table” cover story, which took a critical look at a recent TikTok-sponsored party thrown on the eve of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Pearson, a Pro-Trump influencer who co-hosted the party in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19, told Fox News on Wednesday the article unfairly and incorrectly branded him a racist.
The article, written by Brock Colyar, quoted an attendee who said “the entire room is white.” And the magazine’s cover, which went viral for its depiction of young, well-dressed attendees partying into the night, was criticized by many for cropping out several black people — creating the impression the party was less diverse than it actually was.
Pearson called the story “despicable” on Wednesday, and told Fox News he had provided New York with a formal notice that he plans to sue. “They don’t get to slander us as racist. They don’t get to libel us in print. We need to fight back and hold their feet to the fire,” he said.
“I was even more disgusted when I realized that the other people that were cropped out had one pretty striking similarity to me. We were all people of color. And I think that it was absolutely intentional,” he added.
Pearson has not filed a lawsuit as of Wednesday morning.
His co-host, Raquel Debono told TheWrap on Wednesday she did not plan to take legal action against the magazine; a representative for New York Mag declined to comment on the matter.
Colyar’s article, published on Jan. 27, said the party showed “casually cruel Trumpers” were “conquering Washington.”
“Almost everyone is white,” they wrote. “The men look like Pete Hegseth, in bow ties and black suits, with clean-shaven faces. The women are almost all out of their league.”
That description did not sit well with Pearson, a 21-year-old Black conservative influencer, who noted the party featured a performance from Waka Flocka Flame.
“The headline performer was a Black man, Waka Flocka Flame, it doesn’t get more Black than that,” Pearson said. “If they want to slander us as racist, they ought to pay the cost when they do it.”
TheWrap was on hand for the party, which was thrown on the same day TikTok was set to be banned from the U.S. While TheWrap did not ask to see attendees’ 23andMe results, there appeared to be an eclectic mix of people at the party; interviewees included white, Black, Asian, Indian and Persian Jewish partygoers. You can read about the party by clicking here.