Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ behavior while managing the Georgia case against former President Donald Trump has been controversial
However, she’s recently become occupied with another errand: correcting the way critics pronounce her name.
“I’m so tired of hearing those idiots call my name as ‘Fanny,’ in a way to attempt to humiliate me, because — like silly schoolboys — the name reminds them of a woman’s rear, of her behind,” Willis said at a press conference earlier this month.
“I live the experience of a Black woman who is attacked and oversexualized.”
Willis claimed to be focusing on her office’s lawyerly duties, rather than her own petty grievances.
“I’m over here, paying them no mind,” Willis argued, implausibly. “They’re over there, running their mouth.”
Take a look —
FANI WILLIS: "I’m so tired of hearing these idiots call my name as ‘Fanny,’ in a way to attempt to humiliate me. Because like silly schoolboys, the name reminds them of a woman’s rear." pic.twitter.com/5syGt2Oxpg
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 14, 2024
Willis pronounces her first name as FAH-nee, as in the Swahili word for “prosperous.”
“My name is actually Fani (fah-nee). Taifa is my middle name, and my last name is Willis. So, my father was a Black Panther, so he was very Afrocentric,” Willis explained on Fulton County’s official website.
“My name is Swahili. Fani actually means ‘prosperous,’ and Taifa means ‘people.'”
Willis doesn’t want to be called “Fanny” anymore.
The Atlanta-based attorney declined to name any of the “idiots” calling her Fanny, but former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has committed himself to the mispronunciation.
“Now F-A-N-I is not ‘Forny,’ and I’m not calling her ‘Forny,'” Giuliani said in his New York City accent, according to Newsweek.
“I could just drop the ‘ho’ part if she’d just quit and go away. But, to me, if you spell your name F-A-N-I, you’re ‘Fanny.’ You’re not ‘Forny.'”
Given the rarity of her name, Willis has become the most famous person named Fani.
In fact, Fulton County’s website has called her “A Woman Worthy of Her Name.”
Fitting.