Kanye West fans they’ve been with the rapper through near-constant storms of controversy and problematic behavior, from incessant teasing of his ex-wife to calling slavery a choice and everything in between. Needless to say, they have learned to pick battles from him. But after West debuted a “White Lives Matter” long-sleeved T-shirt during a presentation of his new Yeezy line at a YZY SZN 9 presentation in Paris, his friends in the fashion world sided with him. . Now, even Sean “Diddy” Combs has decided this is a fight he’s willing to talk about, because it’s about so much more than fashion.
“I’m not going to address everything that’s going on in the world on the internet, but what I do have to address is this ‘white lives matter’ t-shirt,” Diddy said in a recent Instagram video. “I have always been there and will always support my brother Kanye as a free thinker. But the ‘white lives matter’ t-shirt, I don’t like it, you know what I mean? I’m not with it.
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West presented the T-shirt along with participating guests that included conservative pundit Candace Owens and Lauryn Hill’s daughter, Selah Marley, granddaughter of Bob Marley. Diddy originally addressed the antics during an appearance on the breakfast club, saying that as a freethinker, the rapper’s actions are often misunderstood. But in his latest post, the music mogul clarified his opinion, sharing his complaints before the joke went any further.
“Right now, all America has planned for us is poverty, incarceration and death,” Diddy added. “So before I can get to any other lives matter, that all lives matter, but Black Lives Matter, don’t play with that. Don’t wear the shirt. Don’t buy the shirt. Don’t play with the shirt. It is not a joke.”
This had been weighing on his mind for a few days, having shared during his breakfast club appearance that he needed time to “get over this shirt”. And he added: “Because right now we are the ones who are dying. There’s really no time for any other lives that matter right now except the tribe. You have to be unapologetically black and love your people and love your tribe first.”
Aside from a fashion perspective (Diddy previously launched his own clothing line under the Sean John brand), Diddy and West go way back. In June, West made a surprise appearance at the BET Awards to pay tribute to Diddy, who took home the Lifetime Achievement Award, calling him her “favorite artist” and crediting him with inspiring “many” of her life choices. .
Despite the wave of criticism he has received, West doubled down on his decision to release the offensive jersey. Just last night, he apparently bragged that his shirt garnered the most press of any fashion week event. “Nothing happened but my shirt,” he wrote. “Remember my shirt got all the attention.”
However, something you have yet to address? Accusations from emerging designers who claim that after meeting with Kanye and his team, his work was lifted without his knowledge.
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