Sam Amico
Just when you thought Kanye West was going to stay out of the spotlight for a moment … well, he shows up to the Paris Fashion Week to break out his YZY Season Nine collection.
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Of course, it wasn’t his appearance that made all the news, as newsworthy as that alone may be. But it was his “fashion” that created the stir.
West showed up with popular conservative personality Candace Owens, sporting a T-shirt with the Pope’s face on the front and the words “White Lives Matter” in large letters across the back. Owens also wore the shirt, as did several models during the show.
Kanye West Wears ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirt
A massive backlash from celebrities and journalists immediately ensued on social media, and some in the audience were appalled even before that. The list included rapper Jaden Smith, the son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Jaden saw the shirt and immediately left his front-row seat at the show.
Per Page Six, West is a little confused by the strong reactions.
“He thinks it’s a PC thing,” one insider said. “He wants to give a voice to the ‘other side’ [of the race debate in America].
“He doesn’t understand why people aren’t seeing that.”
The Anti-Defamation League has referred to the “White Lives Matter” phrase as “hate speech” and attributed it to white supremacists, according to the New York Times.
At any rate, West announced on Instagram that his upcoming show in Los Angeles has been canceled.
“My Sofi Stadium show on November 4th just got canceled. I wonder if it had something to do with my White Lives Matter tee, what y’all think?” he wrote.
The post has since been deleted.
