Kanye West returned to the headlines after photos captured the rapper wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt at his YZY SZN 9 fashion show amid Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 3.
The “Stronger” rhymer organized a last-minute fashion show to advertise his Yeezy Season 9 collection and had his event live streamed on his YouTube page—now deleted.
The video showed the models Ye hired to promote his clothing and several frames of the “White Lives Matter” shirt on Ye’s back. Some of the models were seen wearing the shirt as well.
— . (@smallzstill) October 3, 2022
— . (@smallzstill) October 3, 2022
A video posted to Ye’s official TikTok account showed West outside the fashion show’s building wearing the same shirt but the front exposed. As he approached fans screaming his name, his shirt became more visible and showed pictures of Pope John Paul II, but the name at the bottom read “Juan Pablo II.” The Latin phrase “we will follow your example” was also on the shirt.
Conservative Candace Owens attended the fashion show and posted a photo of her and Ye wearing the same “White Lives Matter” shirt on Twitter.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 3, 2022
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 3, 2022
It’s no surprise that Ye would be in the same photo as Owens, considering in 2018, he tweeted, “I love the way Candace Ownes think.”
I love the way Candace Owens thinks
— ye (@kanyewest) April 21, 2018
In response to the controversial shirt, Black Twitter popped into the conversation with their solicited thoughts.
Black Twitter when Ye wearing a White Lives Matter shirt pic.twitter.com/bSgFCscYaB
— Phyll S. Pumpkins 🎃 (@phyll_indablank) October 3, 2022
Woke up to see Ye wearing a white lives matter shirt 😕 pic.twitter.com/56N6F0nhP1
— ʎǝʌɐʍS ʃǝW (@AirMel97) October 3, 2022
I’m out of the loop, which atrocities are Ye & CO protesting w/ their statement shirts?
Is it “disgusting & dangerous” bcuz it makes a mockery of saying “Black lives matter” … or bcuz their statement shirts belittle the reasons one has had to say “Black lives matter?” pic.twitter.com/7HvhYRJw2B
— Denise – Pamela Denise Long (@PDeniseLong) October 4, 2022
Ima say it cuz a lot of people aren’t saying it cuz there scared of these yt Kanye fans on twitter n shit lol
that white lives matter shirt was fucking weird and He’s a 🦝 for that shit sorry…and y’all pay that type of bs just cuz he’s ye…that’s wierd af.
— Ghozt ⌖ (@highozt) October 4, 2022
This is all that needs to be said in regards to Kanye West and his White Lives Matter shirt. pic.twitter.com/v2ykdgT4WN
— _Joesy_ 🧚🏾♀️ (@015Serenity) October 3, 2022
Ye’s stans and many white people rushed to his rescue and defended his shirt, saying it’s no different than the Black Lives Matter movement because, to them, the movement excluded other races. Yet, America has excluded Black lives since the moment enslaved people stepped on the so-called “land of the brave and free.”
This is the same man who stood on stage, campaigned for president, and discredited one of the most influential figures of African American history, Harriet Tubman, claiming she didn’t free the slaves.
Ye is the same man who recently attacked Black fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson for accepting the invite to his joke-of-a-fashion show and expressing her trauma of seeing the “white lives matter” shirts on models while surrounded by white people.
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Even Will Smith’s child, Jaden Smith, disagreed with Ye’s actions.
According to XXL, the fashion show live stream was deleted after Ye’s song featuring James Blake played over the speakers and supposedly wasn’t supposed to be released.
