'Dear White People' Creator Sounds Off On Netflix Boycott

"Equality feels like oppression to the privileged."

Who knew addressing why blackface isn't okay would send the white community in a frenzy? That's just what happened when Netflix released a 30-second teaser for Dear White People.

Set on a fictional Ivy League campus, the Sundance hit film-turned-comedy series is already at the center of a "Netflix boycott" before its premiere this spring, but creator Justin Simien is not intimidated by the onslaught of "anti-white" accusations and canceled subscriptions.

"Equality feels like oppression to the privileged and thus three benign words send them into a fight for their very existence, which happens to it actually not [being] in any real danger," the award-winning filmmaker wrote in a series of tweets. "This is how a minute long date announcement becomes a distorted call for white genocide in the minds of the some people. Despite all signs to the contrary."

Thanks for helping me make a simple date announcement the most viewed in Netflix history for a new series bro! #UnitedTogether #WeDidIt https://t.co/vYIhWVli51 — Justin Simien (@JSim07) February 9, 2017

At a time when the nation reeks of divisiveness, Simien stresses that the work of the artist is to reflect the times. "I'm not the first artist to use a misnomer as a title and I reject the notion of 'causing a divide' simply by stating that one exists. Which is my role as artist. To state what is. But if facts and common sense can not wake us up from our delusions and distorted ways of seeing, what can? Stories," he later continued. "Stories teach us empathy. They reveal to us ourselves in the skins of others. Our entire concept of reality is stories. So tell your story. Come out of the closet. Write your thesis. Make your film. But do it honestly. Tell the inconvenient truth. It is the only thing that has ever saved us."

In spite of the backlash, many rose to Dear White People's defense and appear just as unbothered by the boycott as its creator.

"We are deleting our accounts if you air Dear White People" Netflix: pic.twitter.com/zRVaT6LLpG — Roxxy Haze (@iamroxxyhaze) February 10, 2017

The people boycotting Dear White People are sure going to be livid when they find out the movie version came out three whole years ago. pic.twitter.com/UND8TnAaNe — X (@XLNB) February 10, 2017

My thought process when I see white people venting about #dearwhitepeople on Netflix when they had nothing to say about Generation KKK... pic.twitter.com/UeO1HLlEEs — Smillee Sims (@smilleesims) February 12, 2017

Dear White People is about the ignorant & offensive things white people do to minorities. If you're mad at that. You're probably one of them — Tanisha (@LiveLoveLibra) February 8, 2017

Dear White People, Just because it offends you, doesn't mean it's racist. Sincerely,

The Actually Oppressed — CardiSet (@xoxoxMinnie) February 11, 2017

Catch the trailer above, and get ready for April 28.