This isn’t how we expect you thought the start of your week would go, but Kanye West knows how to shake things up. When he isn’t taking a chance at the presidency, tearing up music charts, touring the world, launching a school, recruiting for a team, or ranting on social media, Ye is storming the fashion world. Earlier today, a fire was lit under the internet when his YZYSZN9 collection made its debut. Not every piece was applauded.
Quickly, people observed that West was wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt. Soon, it was revealed that the simple design was a part of the runway show, and photos began to circulate online.
West was captured smiling in a picture with far right-wing commentator Candace Owens as they both posed in the shirts, and it didn’t take long for the public to come forward with complaints.
Jaden Smith was apparently at the show and tweeted that he had to leave.
“I can’t stand behind what Kanye’s saying, he does not have the full support of the youth,” Smith tweeted. “Black Lives Matter. I don’t care who it is if I don’t feel the message I’m out.”
Elsewhere, podcast host and former TMZ staffer Van Lathan penned a lengthy note about West’s recent antics. Years ago, while in the TMZ offices, Lathan and West came face to face in what has gone down in history as a monumental confrontation for the rapper.
In a comment section, someone asked Lathan, “Do what lives not matter?” This is a common question from people who are usually anti-BLM.
“We don’t need a reminder of the world of white lives. America is a shrine to the worth of white people,” Lathan replied. “This message is a reactionary message affirming the worth of Black lives, which have never been worth anything in America. In its intent, it’s a white supremacist notion, because it posits that we can’t have a conversation about the worth of Black people without having a conversation about the worth of white people, which is f*cking insane.”
“The notion that it ALWAYS has to be about white people in America is incredibly frustrating, emotionally, draining, and the whole problem. But here’s Kanye, apparently centering that notion.”
He wasn’t the only one with this take. There are several artists, entertainers, journalists, and politicians who have long supported West through all of his controversies but now say that they have had enough.
However, in counterarguments, former President Donald Trump supporters, MAGA enthusiasts, far-right wingers, and people who love and adore Kanye West have sided with the Donda idol. They have given an array of reasons why they don’t mind this latest scandal, including emphasizing their speculation that he’s trolling and not truly believing in the anti-BLM stance.
Read through a few reactions below.