Baller Alert Entertainment & Lifestyle
Russell Brand is sharing his opinion on Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s hit song “WAP,” and people aren’t here for it.
‘WAP’ seems to have struck a nerve for many people. The latest person to feel some type of way is British actor Russell Brand, who posed the question, “WAP: Feminist Masterpiece or Porn?” On Friday, Brand posted a video on YouTube, dissecting the Hip Hop song that is now breaking multiple records and making history. In the video, Brand discussed “cultural phenomena” surrounding the “WAP” music video and “its use of sexual imagery and female potency.”
He then wonders if women “achieve equality by aspiring to and replicating the values that have been established by males,” and added that he thinks videos from women in Hip Hop are “an emulation of a template that already exists and was established by males.”
“If male hip hop tropes are about the potency of male sexuality… and then the female video is a sort of celebration of sexual potency… it’s an emulation of a template that already exists and is established by males,” Brand said.
He continued: “I wouldn’t be so reductive and simplistic to say that women celebrating their bodies using an aesthetic that’s conventionally been associated with the male gaze means it’s impossible that these tools could be used as a vehicle for liberation,” he added. “But I am saying that, in a sense, it’s still the same metric — it’s still the same aesthetic, it’s still the same values, it’s still the same ideals. It’s still ultimately a sort of capitalist objectification and commodification of, in this case, the female.”
It didn’t take long for social media to catch up to Brand, with many calling him sexist, ignorant, and accusing him of “mansplaining” feminism. “I really don’t want to be taught feminism by Russell Brand. But I look forward to Louis CK’s thoughts on why Beyoncé is getting it all wrong. Congratulations to Russell Brand for mansplaining to women how they should enjoy WAP & their own sexuality,” one user wrote.
“Imagine thinking ur so woke and being this dumb,” another user tweeted. “The end of the day Russell, you are a white cis man unable to empathize [sic] with the experiences of women, and ur option matters very little to this bigger conversation. You’re being ignorant AND whoreohobic [sic], AND no one asked.”
Another user wrote,” I’m so glad we have you to tell us your thoughts about women owning their promiscuity and sexuality. For days all I’ve been thinking is ‘what does Russell Brand have to say about this?’??? I’ve barely slept! Thank god for this video, now I can rest easy again.”
Whether you like it or not, the women are winning anyway! Congrats Cardi and Meg!
