The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show wouldn’t be the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show if it didn’t involve some sort of race-motivated controversy, but this year we are— being the shitshow that is 2017— we get a twofer! First Gigi Hadid was banned from China “indefinitely” after enraged fans saw social media posts in which she narrowed her eyes to mimic a Buddha cookie (POOR TASTE, HADIDS). Now there’s video of almost wholly-white crew of models singing along to Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” and belting out the n-word.
In the circulated video clip taken at the Shanghai shows and posted to much vitriol by Twitter account @PopCrave you can hear the models singing the lyric “I don’t wanna choose / And I’m quick, cut a ni**a off, so don’t get comfortable.”
The Victoria's Secret angels singing Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" backstage. https://t.co/gGFbNBnQLI
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 29, 2017
It’s times like these that make you cringe real hard to be a white girl. It seems as though the clip was pulled off of model Karlie Kloss’s blog. A YouTube video shows her BTS and at 2:59, and the shot lines up with the video shared by @PopCrave, however the slur was curiously omitted in Kloss’ version, suggesting she edited that part out when uploading to her social medias. Maybe she should have just refrained from sharing at all?
The video clip has many Twitter users enraged and pointing out the fundamental problem here is not even necessarily the use of the n-word, but the use of the n-word by these people in this specific situation. In other words, a bunch of almost-naked privileged white chicks who are supposed to epitomize beauty.
wait did those mayonnaise’s just say the n word pic.twitter.com/z48WuM6L9B
— Jabe (@hostilitay) November 29, 2017
alright which one of them said the n word I just wanna have a chat pic.twitter.com/2zCsUn4IWY
— Jabe (@hostilitay) November 29, 2017
So these privileged female models are allowed to say the n word? i THINK THE FUCK NOT & don’t come @ me w/ the bs excuse “they were just singing the song,” BECAUSE ITS NOT OKAY
— – (@Ariliaaa) November 29, 2017
Hearing these “niggas” but not seeing no niggas pic.twitter.com/xYPAMb0djE
— ♡♡♡ (@bbycalypso) November 29, 2017
— Ayyyla. (@_snappleapple) November 29, 2017
All white ones cancelled for saying the n word
— jason (@Jsuhn) November 29, 2017
oh that’s all of them… we love diversity
— jason xxi (@jasondeIrey) November 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/insatiablevices/status/935743451345379330
https://twitter.com/MikelleStreet/status/935865062039879680