Source: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis / Getty
Just about two years after pledging allegiance to a suspected white supremacist, Kanye West has taken his pro-white rhetoric plenty of steps further without saying a single word.
Instead, the divisive rapper-turned fashion magnate let his wardrobe do the speaking for him — in the form of a shirt emblazoned with three fateful words in capital letters: “WHITE LIVES MATTER.”
Photos of West wearing the shirt emerged on social media on Monday afternoon and were taken during a Yeezy show for Paris Fashion Week, according to a report from the New York Post’s Page Six, which covers gossip for the right-wing tabloid.
The phrase is often incorporated by white supremacists in a specific and disingenuous effort to call the “Black Lives Matter” organization and slogan.
Images from the YEEZY SEASON 9 (YZYSZN9) fashion show quickly flooded Twitter timelines.
West was also pictured wearing what appeared to be an oversized pair of diamond grills that looked to prevent him from actually closing his mouth.
Source: Edward Berthelot / Getty
Considering Kanye West’s penchant for publicity stunts, it seems likely this is exactly that.
After all, Page Six reported that West delivered a speech to the YZYSZN9 audience, during which he proclaimed his superiority.
“I am Ye and everyone here knows that I am the leader,” Kanye reportedly said before adding later: “You can’t manage me.”
Source: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis / Getty
Kanye’s fashion statement follows the rapper’s stated support for the racist candidacy and then presidency of Donald Trump.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the phrase “white lives matter” is racist against Black people, in particular.
Source: JULIEN DE ROSA / Getty
“’White Lives Matter’” is a white supremacist phrase that originated in early 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which arose to protest against police brutality against African-Americans and garnered considerable publicity in 2014 for protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson police officer,” the ADL says on its website.
Back in 2020 following George Floyd’s police murder, Kanye made an appearance at a Black Lives Matter protest in his hometown of Chicago, suggesting his support for the social justice movement.
This is a developing story that will be updated as additional information becomes available.
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