Lauryn Hill’s daughter Selah Marley responds to backlash for wearing “White Lives Matter” shirt in Kanye West’s Yeezy show

nme.com:

Lauryn Hill and granddaughter of Bob Marley – has responded to criticism after she walked as part of Kanye West‘s Yeezy season nine presentation in Paris earlier this week, wearing, like West, a shirt that read “White Lives Matter”.West has faced significant backlash for wearing a shirt with the phrase – an appropriation of the Black Lives Matter slogan used to protest racial injustice, discrimination and police brutality – during his Yeezy show for Paris Fashion Week on Monday (October 3).

The rapper was also photographed at the event with Black conservative pundit Candace Owens, who was wearing a matching shirt.West’s actions were condemned by peers in the music and fashion worlds, with the likes of Jaden Smith, rapper Boosie Badazz, Supreme creative director Tremaine Emory and Vogue stylist and fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson taking issue with the rapper.

He responded by doubling down, writing in a post on Instagram that the Black Lives Matter movement was a “scam”.Since then, West’s stunt has also been criticised by the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was murdered in a racially motivated hate crime in 2020.

Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, came forward to express “extreme disappointment” with West’s actions. Black Lives Matter Grassroots, meanwhile, shared a statement saying the rapper had “sent a performative dog whistle to millions”.In addition to West, many of the models who walked as part of West’s show also wore clothing emblazoned with “White Lives Matter”, a phrase the Anti-Defamation League has categorised as a “hate slogan”.