Kanye West defends his ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirts: ‘They do’ matter
Kanye West defended his controversial “White Lives Matter” T-shirts in a Wednesday Instagram post.
“Here’s my latest response when people ask me why I made a tee that says white lives matter… THEY DO,” the rapper, 45, captioned a photo of a black, long-sleeved version of the garment spread out on the floor.
Conservative media personality Candace Owens — who posed in one of the shirts at West’s Paris Fashion Week presentation, where he debuted them — left a series of crying-laughing emojis in the comments section.
Sources close to West told Page Six this week that the hip-hop star-turned-fashion designer is baffled by the backlash that his YZY Season Nine collection received.
“He thinks it’s a PC thing,” said an insider. “He wants to give a voice to the ‘other side’ [of the race debate in America].” They added, “He doesn’t understand why people aren’t seeing that.”
Front-row guest Jaden Smith left the show immediately when he saw the designs. West was subsequently criticized by a phalanx of journalists, activists and public figures.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid is among his most notable detractors. She blasted West while defending Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson in a heated Instagram comment.
He had cruelly mocked Karefa-Johnson’s style choices for not approving of his widely condemned merchandise.
“You wish u had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha…If there’s actually a point to any of your s–t she might be the only person that could save u,” Hadid, 27, wrote under a post West shared.
Vogue ultimately shared a statement in support of their employee.
“Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor. She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unacceptable,” the magazine wrote in a Tuesday Instagram post.
“Now more than ever, voices like hers are needed and in a private meeting with Ye today she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best, on her terms.”
According to the New York Times, the Anti-Defamation League has called the phrase “White Lives Matter” — which was coined as a rejoinder to the Black Lives Matter movement — “hate speech and attributed [it] to white supremacists (including the Ku Klux Klan).”
Before Wednesday’s post, West wrote on Instagram, “Everyone knows that Black Lives Matter was a scam now it’s over you’re welcome.”