Jaden Smith has criticised Kanye West for wearing a top emblazoned with the “White Lives Matter” slogan during his YZY SZN 9 presentation in Paris.
On Monday (3 October), the rapper, 45, staged a surprise Yeezy fashion show during Paris Fashion Week. Before the live-streamed show began, West took to the stage in the long-sleeved black shirt, which also featured an image of the Pope on the front, to give a speech.
“I am Ye, and everyone here knows that I am the leader,” he said at one point, before adding: “You can’t manage me.”
The showcase of West’s season nine collection also saw models walk the runway in white versions of the “White Lives Matter” shirt. Controversial conservative commentator Candace Owens was also in attendance at the show, where she too wore a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt.
Posting on Twitter after the show, singer and actor Smith wrote that he “had to dip lol”, adding: “True leaders lead.”
In a since-deleted tweet, he wrote: “I can’t stand behind what Kanye’s saying, he does not have the full support of the youth.”
In tweets that are still on his page at the time of writing, Smith added: “Black Lives Matter”. He also posted: “I don’t care who it is if I don’t feel the message I’m out.”
Many other social media users also criticised West’s decision to wear shirt.
As noted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “White Lives Matter” is a “white supremacist phrase that originated in early 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement”. The phrase has also been used by supporters of former president Donald Trump.
