Editor’s note: This will be our final Kanye post on all of our platforms.
So, Kanye West has finally crossed the line after making some repugnant anti-semitic remarks. He’s now facing major backlash, including having celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis, John Legend, Sarah Silverman, and more call him out and demand accountability, according to Yahoo!. He’s had appearances canceled, and he’s been blocked across social media platforms. It sounds like Kanye might officially get canceled.
As he faces very real consequences, he wants to be viewed as simply a Black man facing condemnation. He wants his fellow Black people to understand and have his back. Under any other circumstances, that would be no problem, but there is one big problem–why should we be fighting for Kanye when he’s done nothing but disrespect Black people for years? And believe me, there are plenty of receipts to back up this assertion.
Here’s why Kanye’s problems aren’t our battle.
Confederate flag conflagration
What do you think about when you see the Confederate flag? Probably not unicorns and butterflies. As a free thinker, Kanye sees this multi-generational symbol of hatred as something a tad bit different. The New York Times pointed out that in 2013, Kanye was selling merchandise with the symbol of racism, slavery, inhumanity, and vileness. His reasoning? “Any energy is good energy,” he said.
He also added that the flag once stood for slavery, and since he wrote the song “New Slaves,” it was now his flag. We’ve all heard about appropriating symbols of oppression, but that’s just plain ridiculous.
Despite its name, “New Slaves” was much more about being a slave to materialism than actual slavery. It was also a vanity piece for Kanye, with him complaining in typical Kanye fashion about all of his hardships. At the same time, he was boasting about his own wealth and how he was better off than most other Black people.
In fact, it actually had nothing to do with racism and nothing to do with Black people or our struggles. Selling merch with Confederate flags wasn’t doing a thing for the culture but just conjuring up bad memories. It was an example of a wealthy Black man with real influence and power normalizing a symbol of anti-blackness and pro-white supremacy.
Racism is dated
Let’s turn to the topic of good ol’ racism because, according to the ever-wise Kanye, racism is dated. Yes, he actually uttered those words way back in 2016. At the time, he told Clique TV (via The Hollywood Reporter) that he doesn’t even like the word “racism” since it really didn’t apply to anybody anymore. Per Kanye the Intellect, he stated: “It’s like a silly concept that people try to touch on to either … to separate, to alienate, to pinpoint anything. It’s stupid.”
He then got extra deep with it and said that the very concept of racism is comparable to two cats fighting over a bouncing ball when you don’t feel like playing with them. He said to let the cats fight over a ball that means nothing because that’s what racism equates to…nothing.
So, in Kanye-speak, that means Black people shouldn’t complain about racism because it simply doesn’t exist. If you feel that racism has played a role in you being denied basic human rights, overlooked for jobs, undereducated, stereotyped, or the such, it must be you because it’s surely not racism. Racism just doesn’t exist. Smh.
Now are you getting a better understanding of why Kanye’s problems aren’t our battle?
The new slave massa
Although Kanye uttered those sentiments about racism, he also views Black people as his pawns at the same time. For example, remember back on May 1, 2018, when he appeared on TMZ? That was that time when he boldly explained with a MAGA hat on that “when you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years?! That sounds like a choice.” Yeah, everybody remembers that.
But, do you remember his apology? Unfortunately, it was just as bad. After it took him about three months to semi-apologize on a Chicago radio station for, according to The Detroit News, causing hurt and letting people down, he liked how Black people had his back no matter what he said. He stated, “It showed me how much black people love me, and how much black people count on me and depend on me, and I appreciate that.”
Black people depend on him and look up to him to hurt us, let us down, and think less of us, but still buy his music, and clothing and praise him in front of mixed company? Kanye for president! Oh, wait, he tried that, too…
Light vs. white
Black women are at the top of this list when it comes to Kanye’s blatant disrespect and disdain. Need a few examples? Well, we all know of his preference and outright worship of white women or very fair-skinned Black women (Ebony discussed this back in 2014), but even the latter group isn’t white enough to escape Kanye’s wrath. While he fetishizes them on one hand, he also demonizes them.
In 2006, he told Essence (via HipHopDX), “If it wasn’t for race mixing, there’d be no video girls. Me and most of our friends like mutts a lot. Yeah, in the hood they call ‘em mutts.”
Despite this slur, his 2016 casting call for his Yeezy fashion show explicitly read, “Multiracial women only,” according to Complex. People were outraged, but why? He had already said 10 years ago that mixed girls are only good enough for eye candy, music videos, and to be objectified.
This is also the man who said he had to take multiple showers to get the uncleanness of Amber Rose off him to be ready for the pure, chaste, and white Kim Kardashian. This is also the same man who slandered Amber for her past as a stripper but proudly announced how his wife became a “superstar” off of a home movie.
If it ain’t white, it ain’t right
Need another example? During his failed 2020 presidential run, Kanye told those in attendance at his rally that Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people,” according to the AP. Even the great Mrs. Tubman wasn’t immune from Kanye’s anti-black woman mentality.
According to HelloBeautiful, during that same rant/rally, he took time to confront a Black woman about “hiding” behind a mask after she disagreed with his gun stance. He also broke from his ranting to denigrate some more sisters for speaking up. However, when a white woman vocalized her disagreement, he hugged her and praised her for her bravery, and for “speaking out” and “speaking the truth.”
Let me guess, they were angry Black women who needed to be put in their place? How dare they disagree with him because their POV’s weren’t valid. The fair-skinned woman, on the other hand, deserved to be listened to and respected.
Since we’re talking about white women, Kanye will rock with them no matter how problematic they are. Case in point, Vanessa Beecroft who’s been collaborating with him since 2008. She’s been a divisive, controversial figure for her obsession and exploitation of the Black form without taking on societal issues that Black people face, according to The Atlantic.
She audaciously told New York Magazine in 2016, “There is Vanessa Beecroft as a European white female, and then there is Vanessa Beecroft as Kanye, an African-American male.” Kanye had no issue with this and sang her praises for years and kept working with her.
Hey, if it’s white, it’s right, apparently.
Body shaming
In the same vein, Kanye seems to take extra glee in body-shaming Black women. Lizzo is the most recent example. According to XXL, during his interview with the ever-charming Tucker Carlson on Fox on October 7, Kanye discussed how obesity is unhealthy, and it’s destroying the Black race. Yes, we know America — not just Black America — has a problem with health and obesity, but Lizzo should not have been used as an example. There are other ways to make a point without trying to shame and embarrass someone.
And, I’ll never forget how much I cringed when I listened to “Mercy” and heard the line, “Plus, yo, my b***h make your b***h look like Precious.” He just had to insult the uber-talented actress Gabourey Sidibe, who starred in the 2009 film, to uplift his discernibly less talented ex-wife Kim. Why? Because Gabby is bigger, and thus, she’s incapable of being loved, respected, or treated as a valuable human. She’s just an object to be made fun of due to her weight, even though he admittedly has his own weight issues and admitted to TMZ that he had lipo so people wouldn’t make fun of him.
White lives matter & spreading George Floyd lies
Even through all of this, his die-hard fans continued to excuse him. All bets were off when he donned that White Lives Matter shirt along with his BFF Candance Owens at his Yeezy Fashion Show on October 3. His people were like, “Kanye, how could you?” But, it wasn’t surprising given his history.
Afterward, he explained that white lives do matter, which is more of a white supremacy talking point than a peaceful, existential statement. And, then, he called Black Lives Matter a scam and personally went after a Black female fashion editor and made fun of her. Hey, it was just Kanye being Kanye.
People started waking up and realized that Kanye wasn’t messing with us anymore after his George Floyd remarks. After millions around the world saw that horrific video, Kanye said on Drink Champs (via CNN) that George’s passing wasn’t caused by ex-cop/convicted felon Derek Chauvin. Instead, Kanye spewed right-wing rhetoric that George died from a fentanyl overdose. Basically, in Kanye’s eyes, George was the cause of his demise and not a knee on his neck, not police brutality, not a legacy of over-policing black bodies. And, what was his proof? BFF Candace Owens said it in a documentary. ‘Nuff said.
This time it was so bad that people started calling for Kanye’s cancellation. Thanks to his recklessness and disregard for the culture, George’s family has filed a $250 million lawsuit based on his lies and issued a cease-and-desist letter, according to Click2Houston.com.
White supremacy praise
Let’s just end it right here because I could literally go on and on. If you think none of this proves how exploitative or manipulative or anti-black Kanye genuinely is, maybe we should take a peek at white supremacy media and its “leaders” who have praised him for his “outsider” views and his “bravery” for going against the “agenda.”
The Washington Examiner, a blatantly racist and right-wing org, praised Kanye for “daring to defy Black Lives Matter” and declaring it was a scam. According to Rolling Stone, white supremacists and neo-conservatives have also been happy with Kanye for his anti-black and anti-Semitic remarks. Sounds like this might be his real audience.
And to finally wear that white hood with pride, Kanye is in talks to buy Parler, the right-wing social media site that the “patriots” of the January 6 Capitol insurrection used. According to Reuters, get this, Kanye began talking with the Parler folks about purchasing the site shortly after wearing the White Lives Matter shirt.
It’s time for some accountability
When you look at the sum of his actions, Kanye is a habitual line stepper. In fact, there’s basically no line he won’t cross. While his latest anti-Semitic remarks attacked a different group, he’s spent years perfecting going after his own people and tearing them down but never faced any consequences. In fact, the media, his fans and many in the Black community never batted an eye. Perhaps, that’s why Kanye’s never thought twice about going after our community relentlessly.
The main problem is that he’s never been held accountable. People laugh him off. They make excuses or give him a pass because he’s supposedly a genius, creative, unique, and a free thinker (which are all seriously in question). While he has struggles and has faced hardships just like anyone else, Kanye can’t keep up with his reckless comments. He needs to know that there are consequences to his words and actions.
Since he’s facing the very real and very dreaded “cancel” label, he now wants to turn back to Black people for help, support, and sympathy. But, at this point, Kanye’s problems aren’t our battle.