White Friends – the Nolan Wells case

[dann]

I was wondering why the name Nolan Wells has only appeared once on the forum. This was the video that made me search for it:

Leslie Jones on Right-Wing Claims That Racism Is Over & What Allyship Really Means (The Daily Show on YouTube, July 24, 2026 – 11 min.)
Is racism nonexistent in 2026 America? That's what gaslighters in conservative media would have you believe, and they're touting their supposed "Black friends" as proof. In this edition of In My Opinion, Leslie Jones takes apart the absurdity of that claim by drawing on her own experiences as a Black American, explaining that being a good white friend means standing up for Black people, and examining what the tragic death of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells says about the myth of a post-racist America.

The only time his name appeared was in one of my own posts about something that had nothing to do with him. It was in a quotation from a YouTube video that also wasn't about him.
Two recent articles about the case:
Cause of Nolan Wells' death still unknown, initial results of independent autopsy show (BBC News, July 22, 2026)
An independent autopsy couldn't determine how Nolan Wells died. Here's what experts say could happen next (CNN, July 24, 2026)

Much like Leslie Jones, I'm wondering what the hell his white alleged friends were thinking – or if they were thinking at all.
I also agree with her about the Alabama riverfront brawl where actual friends came to the rescue of a black man being attacked by entitled white ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

 

[theprestige]

I like how the hypothesis being pushed here is that maybe this guy's friends turned suddenly racist and murderous out of nowhere. Even his own family can't seem to stomach the idea that he made a few white friends before he died.

Teenager being dumb? Nah. It's probably goddamn whitey being a racist ninja again.

 

[Trausti]

Teenager being dumb? Nah. It's probably goddamn whitey being a racist ninja again.

That's how you get the money!

 

[theprestige]

Reparations from Nolan Wells's racist white friends when?

 

[PitPat]

I've kind of been watching and I've seen more evidence for being dumb as theprestige says, and virtually none for a racially motivated crime.

 

[theprestige]

But that doesn't stop American race mongers from promoting racial tensions, and grifting for reparations.

And it doesn't stop European race baiters from carrying their water.

 

[Trausti]

Damn, on a quick search, it's crazy how common teen drownings are.

 

[theprestige]

Don't you mean, it's crazy how common Racist White Kelpies are?

 

[Puppycow]

Much like Leslie Jones, I'm wondering what the hell his white alleged friends were thinking – or if they were thinking at all.

I read the link the to the BBC article but it doesn't explain much. What do you think happened?
The CNN article says:

Wells’ friends made it back home, but he did not. One of the friends said Wells stayed on the island to talk to a girl, but others have cast doubt on that notion.

When you click to link that says "others have cast doubt", it turns out to be someone who wasn't there but says that it "wouldn't be like him" to not come back with the group he came with.

Tracestin Shepherd, who was on the trip, described Wells as one of his best friends. He told ABC’s “Good Morning America” he took a boat back from Horn Island in the late afternoon of July 4, but Wells stayed behind with a girl he had met.
“They met that day, and it was kind of – it’s kind of one of those things. … he really did like her, but that was the only time they ever hung out was at Horn Island on July 4,” Shepherd told GMA.

But Jayvon Williams, another friend who also saw Wells on July 4, said it’s not like Wells to separate from the group he came with.
“I don’t think that Nolan would say, ‘Bro, I’m staying with this girl on the island. Y’all go ahead and go back,’” Williams told CNN’s Laura Coates.
“I’ve never known Nolan to stay back, watch friends leave. He’s always been a guy where, if he rode with you, he’s gonna come back with you,” Williams said.

Young man meets a girl and decides to stay with her instead of returning with the friends he came with? Doesn't sound inconceivable to me. Obviously not a great idea in hindsight, but desire for a woman makes young men do foolish things.

 

[theprestige]

Nobody names their child Tracestin or Jayvon, and expects them to be taken seriously when serious matters are under discussion.

ETA: Also it's hilarious that Chrome's spellchecker thinks "Tracestin" is a typo, but "Jayvon" is a real word.

 

[Darat]

Nm

 

[Puppycow]

Nobody names their child Tracestin or Jayvon, and expects them to be taken seriously when serious matters are under discussion.

That's a Boomer take. Do better.

 

[jimbob]

That's a Boomer take. Do better.

Alternatively

"Nobody gives their kids a black name and expects them to do well"

 

[Puppycow]

Alternatively

"Nobody gives their kids a black name and expects them to do well"

For that matter, how could anyone take someone named "Donald" (like a cartoon duck) seriously? Or "Elon"? Never mind the names Elon gave to his kids. Names like "X Æ A-Xii, Exa Dark Sideræl, and Techno Mechanicus". Enough said. Let's understand that times change, and trends in baby naming change. And yes, there's black name trends and white name trends too. Don't judge a book by the cover or a person by their name.

 

[PitPat]

For that matter, how could anyone take someone named "Donald" (like a cartoon duck) seriously? Or "Elon"? Never mind the names Elon gave to his kids. Names like "X Æ A-Xii, Exa Dark Sideræl, and Techno Mechanicus". Enough said. Let's understand that times change, and trends in baby naming change. And yes, there's black name trends and white name trends too. Don't judge a book by the cover or a person by their name.

I expect in 20 years or so there's going to be a lot of "Donald John's" who will want to legally change their name.

 

[theprestige]

Alternatively

"Nobody gives their kids a black name and expects them to do well"

I think the issue is that they have a very different idea of what "do well" is supposed to mean.

 

[dann]

I read the link the to the BBC article but it doesn't explain much. What do you think happened?
The CNN article says:
When you click to link that says "others have cast doubt", it turns out to be someone who wasn't there but says that it "wouldn't be like him" to not come back with the group he came with.
Young man meets a girl and decides to stay with her instead of returning with the friends he came with? Doesn't sound inconceivable to me. Obviously not a great idea in hindsight, but desire for a woman makes young men do foolish things.

That doesn't really explain anything, does it?
If that were the case, why didn't Nolan Wells return with somebody else?

Mystery girl in Nolan Wells case reportedly identified (NewsNation, July 27, 2026)
“Katie had a conversation and assumed that Nolan was getting ready to get on the boat he came out on,” Gracie McCormack told the Daily Mail. “Katie assumed the ‘friends’ telling him to get on the boat wouldn’t have left him.”
According to Gracie McCormack, Katie was on the island with a different group of friends and later left with her brother and his fiancée. She said the family has fully cooperated with investigators and Wells’ family.
(...)
“She’s saying he went to get on the boat. They’re saying he didn’t get on the boat,” Crump said. “Somebody must not be telling the truth.”

And why did his keys and phone return without him?

What to know about the autopsy and investigation into Nolan Wells' death (ABC News, July 23, 2026)
Wells didn't make it back to the mainland, but his phone and car keys did.

 

[Puppycow]

That doesn't really explain anything, does it?
If that were the case, why didn't Nolan Wells return with somebody else?
And why did his keys and phone return without him?

It sounds like the people who came to that island came in separate boats. A misunderstanding is possible especially if a lot of drinking was involved. These are questions that deserve to be answered by a police investigation, if they can be answered.
As to the question of why his phone and car keys returned without him, this Wikipedia article has a possible explanation:

Death of Nolan Wells - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Shepherd told ABC News that it was not unusual for people to leave their phones behind in boats in parties of this nature, saying, "All our friends are out there. Who are we communicating with? And we're in salt water. We're not in fresh water" and that Wells had left his phone on the "[boat] dash with probably 15 other phones".[7][9]

My question to you is do you think that this was a very unfortunate accident, or do you think that someone intentionally caused his death?
Because those are very different situations. If it's the former, I do think that his friends bear some sort of moral responsibility, but perhaps not legal liability.

 

[dann]

Yes, the people came to the island in separate boats.
Yes, a lot of drinking appears to have been involved. When they reported that the boat was sinking, they sounded drunk.

My question to you is:
What would you have done when you discovered that you had his phone and his keys?
Did you notice how his parents found them?

 

[ponderingturtle]

Nobody names their child Tracestin or Jayvon, and expects them to be taken seriously when serious matters are under discussion.

ETA: Also it's hilarious that Chrome's spellchecker thinks "Tracestin" is a typo, but "Jayvon" is a real word.

Or Barack, really only proper Anglo Saxon names get taken seriously. It is almost as bad to being taken seriously as being a woman.