Selah Marley, the daughter of rap sensation and former member of the Fugees Lauryn Hill, is defending her choice to appear in Kanye West’s Yeezy fashion show. Black models donned T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter,” which caused a great deal of indignation on the internet.
Marley, 23, took part in the unexpected fashion show in Paris, wearing a special WLM shirt with confidence as she walked the runway.
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After being spotted wearing the shirt and receiving a lot of negative feedback, including DMS, tags, and comments, Marley approached onlookers on April 15, 2024. She responded to the issue on her Instagram Story, saying that she would not allow her convictions to be used against her.
“The past 24 hours as allowed me to realize that most of yall are stuck in a hive mentality,” She started off in the post. “You do what the group tells you to do and think what the group tells you to think. Witnessing someone break free from ‘the agenda’ sends you all into such a panic that you will do whatever it takes to force them back into the box that you feel they should exist in.”
“You cannot bully me, manipulate me, or coax me into silence. Nor will you bully me into being who I don’t want to be,” she stated. “I don’t care how many tweets you make, DMs you send, or articles you write.”
Marley maintains her position on wearing the garment, citing “deep thought and intention” as justification. Marley promised to talk more about the subject later and even posted a text message she made to Ye proposing to talk about the reason for her distaste for the shirts and their purpose.
Through text, Marley stated,“[I] think what we did has created a lot of conversation & [I] would like us to continue that conversation & provide the necessary depth & clarity that we are both extremely capable of.”
Supporters were incensed by Marley’s position and questioned how given her deeply ingrained Black parents in the community, she came to have these opinions. Among the answers were the following:
Selah, the daughter of Lauryn Hill and Bob Marley, thus, joined Kanye West in donning a “White Lives Matter” shirt.
Candace Owens, a far-right commentator, is another Black lady standing up for Ye. The latter shared a picture of her and Ye smiling while wearing the troublesome T-shirt behind the scenes of his unexpected Yeezy fashion presentation.
In her Daily Wire podcast, Owens defended her decision to wear the garment, saying that Black people should be paying attention to far more remarkable circumstances than the t-shirt. In her tirade in defense of herself, Owens enumerated Black-on-Black violence, obesity, and education while derogatorily bringing up “Rumors” singer Lizzo’s weight.
Owens stated, “You know what we should’ve done, we should’ve put a ‘White Lives Matter’ t-shirt on Lizzo.”
She added, “Maybe we could have gotten a lot of attention about obesity and how it’s actually killing black Americans.”
Owens continued by saying that no life is unique in her universe and that all lives are important. She said that a few lines on a t-shirt shouldn’t cause as much controversy online as it did after her and Ye’s photo.
Owen remarked, “There is a deep irony and a sad irony when you consider that wearing a t-shirt has led to such a tremor throughout the world. A t-shirt that says ‘White Lives Matters,’ which should be implied.”
“White lives matter, black lives matter, Asian lives matter — it should be implied, yet people are angry, and they are being vicious online because they can’t believe that we have the audacity to detract from the movement, which is a lie: “Black Lives Matter.”
Jaden Smith was another well-known visitor and model who was requested to don the contentious attire. Smith questioned Ye’s leadership in a tweet expressing his dissatisfaction with the clothing selection.
“I Had To Dip. I Don’t Care Who’s It Is If I Don’t Feel The Message I’m Out,” Jaden tweeted on X.
