Vogue is standing by its global fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson after Kanye West mocked her appearance following criticism of his “White Lives Matter” tees featured in his YZYS9 Paris Fashion Week showcase.
Karefa-Johnson, along with many others, took to Instagram to express her concern over the controversial tee-shirt after Monday’s show.
“What I feel is that he is not fully aware of the difference between appropriating BLM and subverting the “Make America Great Again” hat Although I disagree with his thesis there I understand his idea that the hat was a readymade And it’s value was intrinsic to context–signature of the artist,” she said in one post.
She continued, “When worn by trump it’s racist, when work by Kanye it’s about liberation. He neglected to realize the importance of object when he tried to extend that kind of subversion to the BLM slogan. One is obiect one is ethos I know what he was trying to do He was trying to illustrate a dystopian world in the future when whiteness might become extinct or at least would be in enough danger to demand defense.”
Ye seemingly caught wind of the editor’s criticism and took to his Instagram to attack her.
“This is not a fashion person,” he captioned a photo of Karefa-Johnson. “You speak on Ye Ima speak on you, ask Trevor Noah,” the rapper added, referencing his March social media beef with the Daily Show host.
Vogue released a statement Tuesday evening sharing it stands with Karefa-Johnson, who was “personally targeted and bullied.”
The magazine also shared that Ye and the fashion editor met Tuesday privately, where she “spoke her truth.”
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) October 4, 2022
The Donda rapper also took to Instagram to share he met with Karefa-Johnson, where he expressed that he felt she was “used” like “Trevor Noah and other black people to speak on my expression” and they “apologized to each other for the way they made each other feel.”
“She disagreed I disagreed we disagreed.”
