FRANCE.Paris: Ye, a.k.a. Kanye West, made yet another divisive choice at his Yeezy SZN 9 fashion presentation on Monday in Paris. The outspoken rapper and fashion designer sported a shirt with the slogan “WHITE LIVES MATTER” written across it.
Ye and right-wing commentator Candace Owens, whom both attended the show, were both seen walking down the catwalk wearing identical shirts with the same slogans and a photo of Pope John Paul II on the front.
Kanye delivered his Yeezy presentation while donning controversial attire. The conservative commentator Candace Owens, who wore the same shirt in white to the show, also featured it in a picture that she shared on Twitter.
He said to the audience before the Yeezy Season 9 show started: “Everyone here understands that I am the leader… you can’t handle me. The issue is out of control.”
He continued by making mention of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s 2016 Paris robbery, his former manager Scooter Braun, and his most recent dispute with Gap.
While Naomi Campbell modelled for the exhibition, she refrained from donning the contentious T-shirt. A children’s choir that performed at the occasion was directed by the rapper’s daughter, North West.
The term White Lives Matter, which reframes the Black Lives Matter expression used to protest against brutality, is classified as a hate statement by the Anti-Defamation League.
In his speech, Kanye discussed a wide range of subjects, including classism in the fashion industry. The MC said, “People believe they have the right to approach me and accuse me of being insane. Like it doesn’t make me feel bad. Alternatively, you don’t have to be insane to change the world “through people.”
Internet users could not stop discussing Kanye’s contentious attire in light of the “White Lives Matter” movement while everything else was going on.
The Anti-Defamation League has described the text on West’s shirt as a “white supremacist statement.” According to People, it was first used in 2015 when the Black Lives Matter movement initially gained traction.
Van Lathen, a film producer, addressed the anti-black sentiments and said, “This message is reactionary to a message confirming the worth of black lives, which have never been worth anything in America.”
He said, “In its intent, it’s a white supremacist ideology because it posits that we cannot discuss the value of black people without first discussing the value of white people, which is f**king stupid.”
Jaden Smith even tweeted that he left the event early and that he “had to dip.”
He added, “Black lives matter,” and wrote, “I don’t care who it is, if I don’t feel the message, I’m out.”
This is not the first controversy sparked by Kanye’s wardrobe and fashion choices, though. The rapper had previously drawn headlines for appearing on Saturday Night Live in 2018 while sporting a MAGA cap.
Ye made his debut as a fashion designer in Paris in 2011, and this was his fourth fashion presentation there. When he accepted an internship at Fendi in 2008, his fashion career officially got underway. The following year, he attended his first Paris Fashion Week.
Also Read: The Future Starts Now: Lagos Fashion Week 2021 and Its Benefits for Local Economy
