Kanye West Sparks Firestorm by Rolling Out 'White Lives Matter' Shirt at Surprise Event
Kanye West lit a fuse Monday with what he wore as he staged a Yeezy fashion show Monday during Paris Fashion Week.
The enigmatic rapper appeared in a hoodie with “White Lives Matter” emblazoned on the back.
Kanye West wears ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt at surprise Yeezy show https://t.co/PeNUJdueZP pic.twitter.com/WaOdLqwTXG
— Page Six (@PageSix) October 3, 2022
West and conservative commentator Candace Owens were also seen in shirts that matched the hoodie, with an image of Pope John Paul II on the front.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 3, 2022
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 3, 2022
During the show, some models also wore shirts with “White Lives Matter” on the back.
The New York Times’ headline for its fashion review of the show vented outrage: “There Is No Excuse for Ye’s ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirt.”
Over at The Cut, the show was called “harmful.”
Many on social media were also outraged, with some calling West’s actions “dangerous.”
Kanye West decision to wear a “White Lives Matter” shirt is disgusting, dangerous, and irresponsible. Some of y’all will rush to defend him. You should ask yourselves why… pic.twitter.com/YT4a6c9tKI
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) October 3, 2022
sending a “WHITE LIVES MATTER” t-shirt down a runway in Paris is literal insanity and no amount of gospel is getting that man through Heaven’s gate, I’m so sorry.
— roddy bicch 性交 🅴 (@hardsoh) October 3, 2022
So many folks are trying to excuse Kanye wearing a white lives matter t-shirt as just a troll move or marketing. Maybe it is. But it’s a dangerously dumb message to send for someone with his massive platform. I been off dude. But y’all go ahead labeling his foolishness as genius.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 3, 2022
He is so pathetic! Just a sorry little man!!
— Ethel Smith (@EthelSm98911536) October 3, 2022
Not that excuses were made.
“I am Ye, and everyone here knows that I am the leader,” the rapper said at one point, citing the new legal name he has adopted, according to the New York Post’s Page Six. “You can’t manage me.”
When he was asked for an explanation after the show, his reply was, “It says it all,” according to the Times.
West followed that up with a post on Instagram Stories that read:
Everyone knows that
Black Lives Matter was a scam
Now its over
You’re welcome.
“There’s just people. From the same planet. And sometimes, in high school, it feels like we don’t fit in. And in a situation like this, we have the opportunity to come together to express who we are,” West said before the show, according to Vogue.
“It’s leaning into the shape of how I see this future world … this alternate world. But in high school. It’s focused on curriculum because both my parents are educators,” he said.
At the fashion media website HighSnobiety, Jake Silbert wrote, “I’m going to chalk this up to headline-baiting behavior in the vein of Ye’s MAGA hat and glittery sandals. I mean, this kind of shock value behavior dates back to the days of YEEZUS, when he was wearing confederate flags.”
Silbert had one quote he liked from West: “Bernard Arnault is my new Drake.”
Arnault is the CEO of the conglomerate that owns Lous Vuitton and other top-name fashion brands.
Mentioning his name with Drake, a performer with whom West had a contentious relationship, could mean West wants to take on Arnault, noted the website Footwear News.
“Quiet a spectacle, though you could argue that the clothes paled in comparison to the rant — and T-shirt — that preceded them,” Silbert wrote.
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