July 28, 2009

The truth about Tinsel Korey

Tinsel Korey has been cast as Emily Young, a Makah Indian (not a werewolf), in the Twilight sequel New Moon. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be a Native. Based on a previous comment, a correspondent reports:I can confirm that what Anonymous is saying is true. I have met Tinsel and my conversations led me to talk to others who knew her. People who knew her 'before' she was Native, or never believed her or went through the same questions I had. It was very disheartening to find out that it is all a ruse to get roles. Most people in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan know this that have worked with her and I'm not surprised that Anonymous heard from people in Toronto where she's from.

Sad, but true. There's much to the story but I think it should be enough that people know she's not Native in the least. It's sad that people who say anything about her lies are labeled haters. No one wants to waste the energy on someone who has no respect for our culture, yet claims to be a role model for it when people don't care or argue back that don't know the truth. Someday, it will come back to haunt her.
The fans in this thread agree:Dance Floor Exhaustion (woekitten) wrote,
@ 2009-04-24 18:37:00


Look who's fucking playing EMILY in TWILIGHT fucking 2: NEW fucking MOON:

OH SHIIIIIII--

Okay uh, hi everyone else. I was good friends with this chick from junior kindergarten through high school.

(She's also not aboriginal despite claims, and I'd love to know why she keeps denying her heritage. This is just surreal.)

woekitten
2009-04-24 11:06 pm


In spite of the fact we likely have nothing in common anymore ... I really and truly have to be glad for her. She took a big risk, worked her ass off, and made it.

Admittedly, I don't think it's cool that she's calling herself an aboriginal. There are a lot of Native-oriented magazines touting her as "an up and coming aboriginal star," and it really doesn't seem fair to them.

brokenmellcifer
2009-04-24 11:16 pm


I am so, so, so incredibly offended by her claim to be "aboriginal." SO OFFENDED. Does she have ANY actual claim to that whatsoever? An uncle or a stepfather or anything? What the christ?!?

Her myspace says "She was very honored to be a part of the 2008 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards."

WHAT. THE. FUCK. YOU AREN'T EVEN. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

woekitten
2009-04-24 11:33 pm


Wow, even her Wiki page cites her as "of Aboriginal heritage." That is just...No.

Both her parents are from India, as far as I know. She's a first-generation Canadian. She was even a pretty devout Hindi at one time. When we were in grade school, she didn't eat meat.

woekitten
2009-04-25 12:01 am


Yeah, you know what, this burns my fucking ass too. I knew she was playing aboriginal characters, which is perfectly fine. Lots of East Indians do that. But I thought that the Native magazines/awards/etc all knew she was a character actor, not a poser. Apparently not.

I have no idea what tribe she claims to be from or anything like that, but it's a pretty rotten thing to do. I'd still love to know why she's doing it. Does it make it easier for her to land roles as a "member" of an oppressed minority? If that's the reason for the farce, daaaaaa-yumn.

I know I'd be pissed off if some actor made up a story about being Jewish and forged some grandparents who survived the Holocaust. It's incredibly disrespectful.

Know what though, if this is indeed her big break, I doubt her past will stay hidden for long. Seems like there's already been one big flame war on her IMDB page, and I'd love to find out why (it was deleted). Hm!

woekitten
2009-04-25 03:13 am


I know she used to fight a lot with her parents; she was much closer to her next door neighbour, who she calls her "godfather" on her webpage. In fact, "Korey" is her next door neighbour's last name; he gave me a stack of Nintendo Powers once, and that was on the address label.

We gave each other dumb nicknames in grade 11/12 and "Tinsel" ended up being hers because she wrapped herself in tinsel when we were in line to see Titanic. Why she stuck with that name, Christ knows. If she's going to fake being aboriginal, she may as well give herself a cool nature-based name.

brokenmellcifer
2009-04-25 12:43 am


You know, the more I think about this, the more confused I become. I can't find anything on her myspace which directly claims aboriginal heritage, but I also don't see anything clarifying it.

I could see her being a character actor who has been adopted and honoured by the aboriginal community for her talent and the sensitivity she brings to her roles. And I'm fine with that. But I really don't think this is it. We both knew her, and I know I can't say she strikes me as the kind of person who would do that. Maybe she's matured and changed a lot in the past 10 years, but I'm willing to bet she hasn't.

woekitten
2009-04-25 01:00 am


It's seriously weird, isn't it? I did read one article (maybe the same one) that mentions the entire werewolf tribe, Tinsel included, is being played by Native Americans. And the aboriginal media definitely has her labeled as one of their own...but you're absolutely right. She is not saying anything, one way or the other.

I'm not holding hope that she matured. My best guess is that her agent started casting her as a Native character actor (again, very common), and magazines, etc, assumed she was Native because of her looks and roles. Instead of saying "No, you have it wrong," she/her agent realised she could get more publicity/work by claiming Native blood. So they shut their mouths on the matter. Would she have landed this role if the studio knew about her heritage, since it looks as if they were trying to cast Natives?

Still pisses me off, though.

The media fucks up the facts to begin with. One article said she's a Vancouver native. Um, no.

woekitten
2009-04-25 01:01 am


PS, her last name is Patel. Yeah, like the, um, Patel tribe off the coast of the Bermuda Triangle or some shit.

brokenmellcifer
2009-04-25 01:32 am


I am dying to know her side of the story. I'm curious to see how this develops, and how she handles it once she starts doing promotional stuff with the bigger media for this movie. God help her if she starts actually believing her hype, because I will not fucking sit by.

concernednative
2009-07-24 09:22 pm


I am from the Native Community and have actively spoken out about Tinsel being not Native. I can tell.

Could you please give me her first name, and info about it so that I can tell other people, the ones who believe her.

I hate that she is appropriating our culture and has been stealing roles from deserving Native actresses.

Also she is claiming she is Native, she changes from Ojibway to Mohawk and now saying she is Anishnabe.

i_h8_liars
2009-07-26 12:41 am


I can't believe all the people who know about this. This is the first place I've found people who know the truth and not defending her actions. There is so much that people didn't know about her from Toronto but people know she's lying about being Native. She has practically admitted it to so many people but then gives the sob story about being adopted so people feel sorry for her. She's not adopted? WTF? My friends would make up Native stories and tell her and then laugh about it when people wouldn't correct her but talk about her behind her back. Couldn't figure out why until we realized she was trying to make herself more Native. I heard she started powwow dancing too last year at one of the powwows. I'm so disgusted with her and hope more people speak up.
Comment:  This is the second Twilight casting controversy. The third if you count the rumors about Vanessa Hudgens. And something like the 10th or 15th casting controversy since I've begun tracking them.

How racist is today's Hollywood if it has cast non-Natives to play Natives in a dozen or more roles? Pretty darn racist.

If Korey is a good actress, I hope she continues to get roles. But as a non-Native, not as a Native. Unless she somehow proves her detractors wrong, that is.

For more on the subject, see Quileute Werewolves in Twilight and The Best Indian Movies.

47 comments:

dmarks said...

This would not be so bad if she were the only non-Native among the cast Quileute characters..... and if the main Quileute characer (Jacob) were actually played by a Native. It would not be so bad if non-Natives playing Natives were only an occasional thing.

Instead, it still seems to happen most of the time.

Anonymous said...

This chick looked like the one from "Deer Woman" if memory serves correctly, but I may be wrong. The so called Indian woman who played in "Deer Woman" was a non-Native. This Hollywood practice of using non-Natives playing Natives is getting trendy.

GENO--

Karen said...

Let's give her the benefit of doubt. Maybe she didn't boast about her Native hertiage when she was younger and maybe she got more into it as she got older. People could have mistaken her for another ethnicity and maybe she got annoyed or tired or correcting them. It's possible.

Anonymous said...

Karen there so many people have been coming out saying that she has lied. She has been caught in her own lies by not even keeping which Nation she is from straight... there are 3 versions - all from Tinsel herself. Her parents are East Indian so she says she's adopted but obviously from the above, that's a lie too.
If you question her about her adoption she will admit that she really doesn't know - why, because she DOES know because she's not adopted.
Ask enough questions and she will dig her own grave. She has with so many people already.
During the casting, the casting notices ALL said MUST be Native (this is after Taylor was already cast), the press releases all say NATIVE cast. She would not have gotten this role if she was truthful. It would've gone to a real NATIVE actress.

Nangbaby said...

I have to agree with Karen. I know the person who posted the entry, Nadia Oxford (nee Eisner). She insulted and defamed me years ago, and now she's doing this to get back at another supposed ex-friend. Why should Ms. Korey have to defend herself against vicious lies?

Anonymous said...

Are you saying that you know for FACT it's not Tinsel lying? Did you know her as a teenager? I would be interested in hearing what you know.
I don't know who Nadia is but there are MANY people who say that Tinsel is the one lying. Not only about being Native but she's not even adopted?
Tinsel has claimed three different Nations, won't correct people if they make assumptions and won't combat the rumors.
If you start asking too many questions Tinsel's answers are suspicious which is why these "lies" make sense.
The casting for this twilight was supposed to be authentic Native. If she didn't claim to be Native, someone else would've gotten the role that IS Native.
If she is Native then why doesn't she confront the rumors once and for all. I don't think she will. If Summit knew she wasn't Native she could be recast for the next movie.
I believe she is not Native. Not because of rumors. It was Tinsel herself that convinced me. She practically admits it if you ask the right questions.

Melissa I said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you to woekitten and to the poster of this blog. As an aboriginal person, I've been following her story for months, even before she was cast as Emily. When I first saw her in Rabbit Fall I knew something was certainly fishy. I could tell right away she is not an indigenous person to Canada. I think she is a liar and a fraud.

Apparently, on her myspace page, she is asserting her nation as Anishnaabe... http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=151229614&blogId=503084987

I hope that the truth will come out in the mainstream media soon.

Anonymous said...

TINSEL KOREY IS NOT NATIVE AMERICAN.
SHE IS EASTERN INDIAN. SHE DOES NOT EVEN LOOK NATIVE AMERICAN AT ALL.
REFUSES TO GIVE OUT HER AGE.
SHE GOT MARRIED TO DOUG YAZZIE, A NAVAJO PHOTOGRAPHER(EYE BEHOLDER PHOTOGRAPHY) FROM PHX,AZ A YEAR AFTER MEETING HIM AT THE GATHERING OF NATIONS. THEY GOT MARRIED IN KAYENTA,AZ WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE NAVAJO RESERVATION. THEY GOT MARRIED SO SHE COULD GET CITIZENSHIP IN THE U.S. SHE KNOWS NOTHING OF NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE. EVEN HER PHOTOS OF HER IN TRADITIONAL WEAR ARE NOT THE TRADITIONAL CLOTHING OF HER CLAIMED TRIBES. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE CANT CLEARLY SEE THAT SHE DOES NOT EVEN LOOK NATIVE, LOOK AT HER HUGE NOSE AND OTHER FEATURES.GET A CLUE PEOPLE. TINSEL PATEL, WHAT IS THIS GIRLS REAL NAME ANYWAY. YOU KNOW PEOPLE WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET BY TO MAKE THEIR WAY UP. BUT IN THE END THE FAKES ARE ALWAYS FOUND OUT. NO ONE CAN JUST CLAIM NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY AND NOT HAVE PROOF. HELLO, WE ARE THE ONLY CATEGORY OF PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY HAVE TO PROVE WHAT WE ARE. WHERE ARE TINSEL KOREY'S PAPERS? OH YEA, NON EXISTENT.

Anonymous said...

Maybe someone should tell her how to spell 'Anishinaabe' if she's going to pretend that's what she is now.

Anonymous said...

I\'m Tinsel Korey. It goes like this. I lied.

I won\'t say my first name. My last name is Patel. I am not First Nations.

I don\'t know what I\'d get out of lying, anyway. If nothing else, I could get sympathy (changing my name from \"Patel\" to \"Korey\") and no one could do shit. Getting a few roles sounded nice...I could recruit a few writers to help me make my songs, I suppose, and singers. Heck, I\'d get stuff from anyone would be cool, too. Poems, fan drawings...

I\'ve been having insane thoughts lately of maaaaaybe just maaaaaybe making a confession. I\'d think, \"Hopefully I\'ll wake up tomorrow and the idea will be gone,\" but the next day would pass. It got old.

Then it hit me. This was the STUPIDEST idea I\'ve had in a long time! I mean, it was dumber than the garbage strike. Time to shit or get off the pot!

Everything my friend said, if she still thinks of me as a friend, is true. I told her when I was six that if she kicked her cat it would throw up Skittles. She still has the scratches.

I\'m sorry. Thank you for not taking my shit.

I don\'t know what else to say. ;P

Nangbaby said...

I'm only posting to let people know that the post referenced in this was deleted from public view, making this highly suspect story even worse in the credibility department.

I TOLD you the woman was lying. Do not believe everything you read on LiveJournal, especially if it comes from Nadia Oxford.

Rob said...

Is Nadia Oxford the person whose handle is "woekitten"? Please be explicit, Nangbaby.

Woekitten explained her reasons for deleting the posting. These reasons had nothing to do with Woekitten's having lied:

"I've gone ahead and baleeted the posts I made regarding Tinsel Korey's heritage, except this one. It came to my attention that people were using the information to engage in heated attacks off-journal, and there was even a possibility, albeit faint, of Korey getting hurt. My posts seemed to be fueling old grudges that I don't know anything about, but don't like the sound of. The attacks had to do with Korey as a person, not as a 'Native,' and had little to do with what I initially wrote."

Therefore, the situation remains the same. We have comments from Woekitten and several other people, including one allegedly from Tinsel Korey herself. All these comments agree that Korey lied.

As yet, no one has claimed that Korey was telling the truth. No one has offered any proof that the assertions of Woekitten and several other people are false. Sorry, Nangbaby, but telling us you have a longstanding grudge against Woekitten doesn't count much as evidence.

Readers can wade through this posting and make up their own minds, of course. But until we see a lot more pro-Korey testimony, I'd say the weight of the evidence is against her.

P.S. For more on the subject, see Tinsel Korey Comes Clean?

Nangbaby said...

Nadia Oxford is "woekitten." She's also gone by the screen name "Red Draco," among others. This is not a secret by any stretch, as half of this is actually in her LJ profile, and the other half is on her website.

Oxford explained her reasons for deleting the material because she didn't want to hurt Korey. This was a good three months after she posted this stuff, received dozens of comments, and let it spread so other websites like this one could archive it. It's strange how this concern didn't manifest until after this article had been posted. Because of this, I choose to believe she's lying, and I am not alone in this assumption.

Second, and most importantly, we normally assume the person who is speaking or writing is telling the truth. For instance, you have done this for Nadia Oxford. However, the critical difference is that Ms. Korey is making a statement, and Ms. Oxford is making an accusation. The burden of proof is usually on the accuser (as seen by your dismissal of my accusations that Oxford is lying), which means the accused does not have to defend herself against the accusations. The "evidence" you have is a bunch of people saying she isn't Native, most of whom refuse to give any meaningful personal details. Why isn't there a presumption of innocence for Korey when there is one for one who would speak badly of her?

Finally, Oxford has a history of belittling people based on race and ignoring facts in favor of insults. This isn't an attack against the person, but relevant information in light of the subject. I could show you the proof, but due to the NSFW nature of it (explicit language), it would have to be private.

Rob said...

The correspondent whom I quoted at the beginning of this posting isn't anonymous to me. I just chose not to post her name. She seems like a responsible person who has no personal connection to Korey or Oxford.

Korey apparently claimed to belong to three different cultures: Ojibway, Mohawk, and Anishnaabe. People who know her say she's an Asian Indian woman named Patel. Her Wikipedia entry now states: "Although of East Indian descent, she frequently plays Native American and Canadian First Nations roles in television and film." And she apparently admitted she lied.

You can ignore these facts if you wish, but there's no reason the rest of us should ignore them. So far you still haven't given us a shred of evidence to dispute the evidence above. Your "argument" amounts to "We should believe Korey" rather than a group of unrelated people who have independently challenged her claims.

With all the fakes out there, most Indians are willing to document their Native ancestry. If Korey wants to play Indians, she should be willing to do the same. As far as I'm concerned, nobody should get Native acting roles just because they claim to be Native. If I had any doubts about Graham Greene, Wes Studi, or Adam Beach, I'd ask them to prove themselves too.

Anonymous said...

Just a heads up that claiming Wikipedia as a source is a bad idea. Wikipedia is able to be changed by ANYONE to say ANYTHING. So what it says is not necessarily based on fact. It's an honor system. One I've seen abused with celebrities time and again. I'm not defending Tinsel by mentioning this, I'm simply pointing out that Wiki is not a good source for reliable information and citing it as a source makes a weak case.

Nangbaby said...

You may have one reliable source, but this "story" is on very shaky ground, with the primary source retracting her reaction, and a rather dubious confession. There's nothing wrong with using anonymous sources, of course, but given the level of accusations you are presenting as fact, it would be far more prudent to secure more evidence (if you can find it) so it doesn't sound like an unfounded lie.

I'm not saying you personally have to believe Korey. But you're reporting this as a supposedly unbiased correspondent, and be it in law or just plain common sense, you're supposed to be neutral. Reporting her as a liar might gather views, but it also damages her reputation with no hope of recovery. Even if Korey were to give the proof you demanded, your report would be remembered and some in your audience would still think of her as a liar regardless of what happens.

I suppose I'm disturbed because all of this is reminiscent of a different, more violent forms of racial discrimination -- when freed slaves had to carry papers proving they were free, angry lynch mobs killing people over mere accusations (or less), and the more recent baloney around wanting to see President Obama's birth certificate. It's personally disturbing to me, someone who can only trace her roots only back so far. I'd hate to be in the position of having to prove I was descended from a certain lineage even though I've been treated that way all of my life based on sight alone.

Shonto said...

My first question is, is the creator of this blog native? From what I see it does not look like it.
This is a gossip site about Native people in the industry. A GOSSIP website. Before you can read anything here you would first have to understand that anything posted here does not have any credibility.

My older brother was adopted, He still goes through very rough times to this day. Not everyone knows, and he does not like to talk about it because there are a lot of things they might not understand. A lot of his friends have no idea and my parents are not open about it either.
If she was adopted, I would understand if she didn't want to talk about it or go into detail. Who in the right mind would ask to see proof of a topic that could be very harmful to a person. You must be sick to think for one moment that she owes you such personal information.
You should post your images, Drivers License, and Birth Certificate on here before you demand similar documents from another person. I am astonished at the level of ignorance from this website.
How many of you are Native? How many of you have proof. Which of you are close enough to her, or her family to know the truth?

Whatever her story is, I am sure it is interesting and deserves some respect.
As for the woman named Nadia, she seems to be flip flopping on her story as well, and from someone who knew her in High School, I am sure that would not be a friendship that would be worthy of telling such personal information.
I have watched many movies with people in HS Nadia, and I don't know squat shit about any of them. So bite your tongue or show that you are a real friend and call her. Or call her management, say who you are and if she even remembers you maybe she will take the message or return the call.
My guess is you don't know anything, and have acted upon assumptions which could have hurt this individual.
You people are so disgusting it pains me to have even found this website.
What about Lite foot? or the fake Cherokee tribes that some of you sound like you are a part of. Why not attack them? or Gathering of Nations which exploits native people. There are so many things worth looking into that are not personal and could prove you all very wrong that it makes me wonder about your character.

And for your information, from what I can tell Anishnaabe and Ojibiwe are the same thing as well as Mohawk. So some of you sound much dumber then she does by thinking this helps you prove a point.

Put your cards on the table before you ask to see anyone else's.

Tinsel has been doing classes for native youth for quite some time which is how I met her. She looks more native then I do and I have status. So I can't say anything bad about her. What have any of you done for our community lately other then post on a gossip website about accusations from one source that has removed her posts and apologized. I must also say, Nadia, you posted personal things or stories about her family, or adoptive family, and neighbors or people close to her. That is not ok, on any level. How would you like it if your child was being prosecuted by online bullies who are on a gossip site? You should know better, your parents should have raised you better.

All of you, you should all take a look in the mirror and try to remember what your parents brought you into the world to do. Was it to attack someone who had a great career, helps native youth, and has the decency not to have this website banned.

I personally think you should direct your attention to the host of this website and begin to ask him personal questions. Why is this man so interested in our native women? There is some level of perversion in all of this. Whoever you are rob, you are not welcome to visit my family or my tribe.

Shonto

Anonymous said...

People can defend her all they want, but the truth is she is not Native and has no idea that she is Native. If she is in fact adopted.

She has told me herself, that she does not know if she is Native and is afraid of finding out.

The proof is in the fact that she has not shown anyone proof that she is Native.

She just claims it, and its not hers to claim.

Prove it and there will be no doubters...

But my guess is that she is not adopted, she has hid her past so no one will find it. And people are finally coming out to say that she is stealing a culture and stealing roles from actual Native actresses.

It will come out, someone will be sneaky enough to investigate her family. Let's just hope that she is prepare for her downfall..

MOM said...

No one here has any evidence or even the guts to say who they are. Korey has openly said to have stalkers and that is obviously true. This website is full of haters and jealous people.
Look at who is accusing her of not being native.....white people. HA!
You want to see her status card or proof? Those are Government Documents you retards. No one in the world would ever show that. Why even consider doing it here on a tiny website with a crazy white lady who is the only person to say she is not native. The same lady who admitted to having some form of brain damage. That is your source?
All of this hate was designed by white society to kill our tribes and culture. Native communities are based on acceptance of others no matter where they come from. So as far as I am concerned anyone who accuses another person of not being native is proving that they themselves infact are not native and do not understand our culture. Our children and youth need people to look up to, people to reach out to them and that is the type of person Tinsel is.
Get a life people and start accepting others for what they are doing not by the color of their skin and accusations by openly retarded individuals. Don't believe me? Go read her BIO.

Now want a real lie?
Go watch the Obama Deception. Something actually worth looking into.
I hope reality can reach some of you bright individuals who are not jealous and racist. Websites likes these should be banned and the people who continue to slander others without physical evidence should see the damage they do to peoples career.

Who else have you all accused of not being native. Let me list a few

Adam Beach
Julia Jones
Tamara and Jen Pedemski
Sherman Alexie
the list goes on and on
actual natives being accuses of not being native because of the hard work they put into a career.
Stop with the hatred and move on with your lives.

People will always have rumors, hatred will always be present because of evil people, but it is up to you to be more intelligent then an online accuser. They hurt the people we love and the people our children look up to.

Now go out there and change the world you activists you!

someonewhoknows said...

FYI to everyone on this ridiculous board...I actually know her and have known here for about 6-7 years long before she was just starting out. She has always been to my knowledge Tinsel Korey and of course still is. There's a difference between outing someone who is exploiting the native heritage for acting gigs. This is certainly not the case. She does more for the community than most of you do. Wow, what a poser supporting native struggles,doing benefit shows, helping members in the community...yeah, she should definitely be burned at the stake. All of these posts have one thing in common, NO FACTS...and a bunch of lying losers from high school who didn't amount to much and feel the need to bring someone else down with lies and hate...being native myself(about half), I am truly disgusted in this site and the promotion of hatred amongst our people...Please get enlightened,educated and happier about life..it makes this world a better place.

Michelle said...

Uh, here's a pro-post...have known her for a very long time, she is NOT a liar and is telling the truth. She is also the most kind-hearted person and coolest chick I have ever met.And also just for info purposes. I claim 3 tribes and no I am not lying...you know it is very possible to have a set of parents who are from a couple different tribes each on their own. Is is wrong for me to deny half of my heritage so people believe me? please. I know where I came from and am at peace, maybe all of you should search for that inner peace as well.Then you wouldn't feel the need to hate on someone who is genuine and has never done anything to you. Nadia seems slightly mental and seriously happy with her role/position in life.Everyone on this board needs to get a life.TINSEL KOREY NEEDS TO PROVE NOTHING TO YOU CRAZIES!!!

Anonymous said...

THE OWNER OF THIS BLOG ROB IS DELETING POSITIVE POSTS ABOUT TINSEL KOREY.THIS BLOG IS A BIASED LIE!!!!

megan said...

Rob, why are you deleting posts that are pro-tinsel? That seems unfair and ridiculous especially with the statement you made about there being no pro-posts as of yet, could it be because you are deleting them?

Anonymous said...

Rob and Nada: Your Mom Bitch!

Anonymous said...

Rob Schmidt

6150 Buckingham Pkwy, Unit 204
Culver City, CA 90230-7249

(310) 641-8931

Nangbaby said...

As culpable as Mr. Schmidt is for posting the entry, I don't think going after him personally is wise, as it would be morally and legally wrong. After all, he may or may not have been acting out of what he genuinely believed was a good story. I don't know him well enough to make a judgment on that regard.

Besides, focusing on him alone lets Nadia Oxford -- whose words take up the core of the post -- off the hook. She's the one who's going around and making the accusations against Ms. Korey, and she still hasn't completely backed down from them. Unlike Mr. Schmidt, she is escaping any serious scrutiny on this. I do know her well enough to know she will try this again.

Lynette said...

The more I look at these claims the more they bother me. Much of it is based on the information of woekitten who says she knew TK as a teenager. But to quote woekitten:

"I knew she was playing aboriginal characters, which is perfectly fine. Lots of East Indians do that."

No woekitten East Indians playing Aboriginal characters is not fine and the fact that you don't think so but seem hell bent on attacking TK on a forum about the theft of Indigenous identity in the film industry says to me that you do not get it at all! It makes all your claims smell of personal vendetta and nothing more - heaven help you if this is all a storm-in-a-tea-cup media virus originating only from your gossip!

Rob says "...until we see a lot more pro-Korey testimony, I'd say the weight of the evidence is against her..." - I have seen no evidence in either direction - only conjecture and gossip! I actually have difficulty imagining what would constitute acceptable evidence in this case - high school or family photos with the name Patel under them? Would that actually prove she wasn't Native - and if they don't exist what proof will make you give up the attack - the whole thing seems "guilty until proven innocent to me". Oh well if she drowns she wasn't a witch afterall - if not burn her at the stake!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous.Or if u like I can call myself Sue or Bob. Same thing.
What is it about this 'topic' that inspires so much anger?
If SWK says she knows Tinsel and believes Tinsel and I know Tinsel and think she's a liar who are people to believe and why.People do have information that maybe u don't.
Tinsel
-admits she "doesn't know".
-can't keep her story straight. Ojibwe, Mohawk and Anishinaabe are NOT the same thing. And it is a changing story. NOT that she is from multiple tribes.
-She is much darker than her photos look and in person it seems obvious she's East Indian.
-Her parents are East Indian.
-She claims she's adopted. People have argued that claim as well.
-She never mentioned it before 5 years ago? Six? How many enemies does she have? Find one and get the their story. I found just over 10. Wasn't hard. More than one with very damning knowledge of her 'discovery'. People who knew her say they are positive she is lying - Not just this Nadia person.
-She gives no reason to for anyone to believe it. She says she's non-status. Some people don't have status. True. But she still won't even say why she thinks she is, mom, dad, grandpa, she won't say anything. Not just online but to friends. Isn't that weird?
Ask people who know her in film anywhere in Canada or in the Native community in Vancouver where she lives. Get her side, then get theirs. U'll see the pattern and come to the same conclusions. I have multiple sources with the same story.
Its not wrong that she is not Native playing Native. Actresses starting out take what they can. It is wrong that she is CLAIMING a heritage simply to get roles that go out to a small specific group. It is disrespectful.
Should Tinsel have to prove her heritage? In this case, yes. Twilight required unknown actors at open castings to prove their heritage so all roles went to authentic Natives. Tinsel was probably not asked because they saw her for Native roles. Why would she lie. Except a chance to act in a really big movie and get lots of money.
Can she prove it? Not unless her new hubby's tribe gave her a card. She couldn't do it anytime in the last five years or so since she starting claiming she was Ojib, i mean Mo, I mean Anishinaabe. Hard to keep straight. See why she has trouble.
I don't hate Tinsel, I hate what she is representing. If we support her we are saying it is ok to lie, to use our culture and take roles away when people are trying to promote Natives in film. She is making a mockery of a culture that is trying to break barriers - wearing a choker in a headshot picture do NOT make u Native. Neither does asking Native men to marry u so u can be an American.Which she finally did it looks like. Hatred comes in many forms and a 100% manipulated false pride for show, to gain money, is worse than someone or many someones confronting her.
Unless someone hires a private investigator we won't ever know the whole truth. Tinsel will crack jokes instead of confronting the attacks, defend herself with false names on websites (or answer "questions from a stranger" on myspace)or have friends who are still duped in believing her to defend her on these sites.
Natives are the only race that people have to prove, but u can claim whatever u want, just be prepared to explain it.If someone says we want only authentic Germans for a role and u can't come out and say 'my grandfather is from Aurich' should u be cast? Notice Tinsel is not in any of the promotions but the rest of the wolf cast is with Summit boasting their "real" natives. If she was Native all the Native film people that worked with her would know what Nation she is.Natives when they see another Native u ask where they are from. I'm proud of my ancestors and my blood line. If Tinsel was Native she would proudly say why she "is Native" instead of all this secrecy. Why does she have such a problem with it?

Nangbaby said...

This topic inspires anger in me for the following reasons.

1) Using the race card in this manner is rather despicable, especially for people (like woekitten) who claim not to be racists.

2) Woekitten, who passive-aggressively started the ball rolling, has lied on me -- another former friend -- and discredited me in a similar fashion years ago. History is repeating itself here, and if she ends up taking down an actress, I will feel responsible because I didn't spread word of Nadia Oxford's treachery sooner.

Anyway, the more these attacks go on, the worse they get.

Because Korey is supposedly dark-skinned, she can't be Native? What type of thinking is that?

By the way, I have plenty of enemies, too. I'll even point some of them out to you, if you want. That doesn't mean what I'm saying is not true, or is.

Besides by now, I know Red Draco/Nadia Oxford/Woekitten has concocted some "evidence" to support this, so you won't need an investigator. She'll just get one of her followers to "leak" some information. There probably was someone she knew who resembled Korey, and she thought, "I could simply write Korey is this person and no one will ever challenge me." What's also important to note is that she has "pull" in her community (see the size of her LJ friends list, for instance) and could easily have someone manufacture some proof, if not do it herself. Mrs. Oxford has done it before against me, and she has done it again to Tinsel Korey.

Anonymous said...

Harsha Patel

Anonymous said...

???

Anonymous said...

Nangbaby I don't know Nadia but I believed Tinsel was liar a long time before I read that post.Do you KNOW Tinsel or are you defending her because you don't like Nadia?Tinsel ADMITS she has NO idea if she really is Native.Is it really not enough for you? Her stories don't add up. Nadia's post makes more sense than Tinsel does.She may not be a nice person but it doesn't mean she is wrong.If you know Tinsel than tell us why Nadia is wrong.

Nangbaby said...

The problem is in this case an accuser brought a charge and was automatically believed, simply because some people don't like the accused. If you can't see the inherent error in that type of thinking and the resulting damage from the destructive groupthink some of you have maintained, then I truly am at a loss for words.

I'm more motivated to comment in this case because I've had people gang up on me like this before. It's cyberbullying. Wouldn't some of you have outgrown this by now?

Anonymous said...

Why does this "Nangbaby" defend Tinsel Korey? Because "Nangbaby" IS Tinsel Korey. They are the same LIAR!

Protip: Pick a better screen name the next time you lie about being Native.

Anonymous said...

Tinsel does go on her sites with fake names.And Nangbaby has given no reason to defend Tinsel other than Nadia is a meanie. Score one Nadia.Not bullying to ask Tinsel to stop lying and tell people the truth and leave our culture alone and have a little respect for it.

Anonymous said...

Someone posted Harsha Patel... Is that her real name?

Anonymous said...

http://img151.imageshack.us/i/theliesneverstop.jpg/

Interesting how that works.

Also, I love how all the people on here claiming to be Native whilst defending a South Asian actress (I wonder how you treat real Native women if they are not famous or have a Caucasian phenotype like Tinsel Korey) are "part Native" or "about half" themselves, while labeling everyone who disagrees with them as "white".
Reminds me of Ward Churchill and Nasdijj. NOBODY could question them, otherwise they're 'racist'! Every time an Indian said anything about them, they were labeled as some sort of identity cop or blood quantuum 'nazi'. That is truly sick, considering many of us either are or have friends who ARE non-status or are/know other Indians who've been adopted. I don't go around flashing my papers, nor do I require that anyone else do the same...but I sure as hell know my familial ties and roots. Guess what? Tinsel Korey has none!

Quit feeling sorry for this poor privileged girl claiming to be one of US, a marginalized people. She is no victim, she is a liar and thief. She can play dress-up in her promo pictures all she wants (what a hilarious indicator that she needs to grasp for straws as an outsider with no real ties to the culture/s she claims), but she is still an immigrant on stolen land (read: NON-NATIVE).

Oh, and Shonto? Go ahead and claim 'Tinsel Korey' as one of your own, but Native women are NOT "yours". You do not own us. Neither does anybody else, and a white guy posting in a blog about a fraud does not constitute as "perverse". You obviously do not care too much about us--"your" women--if you are going to defend someone building a career OFF OUR BACKS. By the way, 'Anishinaabe' does not necessarily = Ojibwe, and Mohawk people do not usually go around calling themselves that. Vague self-identifying does not = Aboriginal.


- m.

Anonymous said...

Funny how no one is calling out the last post as a lie.Finally convinced? Match Point!

Unconvinced said...

Look at this link about Tinsel then click on the link for Anishnaabe which is described as a self-identifying term for Ojibwe people - although I suspect anonymous m is more qualified to comment on this subject than wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinsel_Korey

As for Samuel Bowers - who is the source of the 2005 communication - the only public evidence produced so far - his IMDB handle is path_finder. Follow this link to some of his posts - particularly those about Tinsel Korey - you may get a feel for the context of these claims.

http://www.imdb.com/user/ur7824190/boards/profile/

There are allot of persuasive arguments about how bad it would be if Tinsel were lying (agreed) and many strong assertions across the internet (mostly anonymous) that Tinsel is all kinds of things but very little evidence to back anything up! Time will tell!

Anonymous said...

What's interesting is that if you follow Harsha/Tinsels acting history you'll notice she plays normal characters, but then all of a sudden she hits "Into the West" where she portrays a woman of indigeneous descent. Then lo and behold she finds her calling and is portrayed as native in everything she does. (with only a few small exceptions where they were very minor roles ie. "The lookout", "I know what I saw" "The Quality of life")
It's hilarious that she first doesn't proclaim herself as anything (when people asked what she was in person she would say Canadian) and now claims she's native but that she's proud of breaking casting stereotypes....um if anything your creating them, from a false image.

Nadia Oxford said...

Jesus! What the hell did I do to warrant this attention? I have two footnotes and I'm done.

1) I stand by my original entry. Tinsel was my friend for years. She is definitely lying.

2) I've never heard of this Nangbaby. The colour of her writing is like Tinsel's. As in the real Tinsel and not her reputation wranglers. It's possible Nangbaby isn't Tinsel. It's also possible Martians stole my brain and turned me into a zombie who types on a keyboard for the reward of human flesh. I'll let you determine which scenario is more plausible.

If anyone has any questions, you know how to contact me. Otherwise, I'll conclude with the following exchange:

Interviewer: "Miss Korey, there are rumours you are a Hindu. Is this true?"

Tinsel Korey: "By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear it is a lie."

Nadia Oxford said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nadia Oxford said...

Yeah, hi, that's not me. Not a bad imitation, though!

I know Nangbaby quite well, and even though she has issues with me, I can say with confidence she's not Tinsel Korey (her writing is quite a bit more coherent).

Nadia Oxford said...

(I apologise for the delete and re-post, just wanted to do a wee edit.)

Anonymous said...

This is just a vicious circle. People who knew her and who can probably prove (as previously requested) through yearbook photos with names underneath or something of the line her true identity, haven't. But even if they did, all the people screaming in Harsha/Tinsels defence will say it's been photoshopped, or it's a fake image. I guess the only thing we can wait for is if her parents step up, or if it all comes crumbling down on top of her during an interview or something.

On the other side maybe she really truly is native, and somehow found this out recently, and I'll be eating my words. But I really don't think so.

Anonymous said...

Another thing I notice is that depending on who she hangs out with, determins what nation/tribe she's from. Way back in the day when she hung out with Kinnie Starr (who is Mohawk) Tinsel said she was mohawk....now she's claiming anishnabe, and if you notice the most recent music video she did (on you tube) with Wab Kinew....half way through Wab turns around and is wearing a sweatshirt saying 'Team Anishnabe' on the back....um...ok??

(Sorry for any spelling errors by the way)

Nangbaby said...

It looks like ignoring this does not make the lies go away.

A "fake" Nadia posted and shortly later the "real" Nadia posted. If you want to see transparent lying, I wouldn't need to look at Tinsel Korey (who is telling the truth). I'd look at the person who was mysteriously "impersonated" then swooped in within hours of the initial post.

I have a yearbook photo of a "Joshua Jackson" who bears a resemblance the actor of the same name and is close to his age. That doesn't mean it's him. She's already got a "stooge" picked out with a different name. It fits with the established pattern of behavior.

To believe this lie, we must conveniently ignore that Oxford is pushing 30 (and showing it) and that Korey is no older than her mid-twenties at most. Of course, if people believe I'm Tinsel Korey, I suppose people will believe anything.