“I’m just in a dimly lit room”: Iggy Azalea Blamed Videography After ‘Blackfishing’ Accusations as Pop Star Set to Join OnlyFans After Failing Music Career
With more than three million YouTube views since its July 2 release, Iggy Azalea’s new single, I Am the Stripclub, is currently flying high. However, the 31-year-old Australian rapper has also faced criticism from a number of haters who claim that she blackfishes in the video. The blonde star can be seen in the back of a truck wearing a long, black wig as a swarm of vogue dancers surrounds her in one scene of the clip. The actress was accused of blackfishing after screenshots from the scene started making the rounds on Twitter over the weekend.
NBC News reports that the hip-hop journalist Wanna Thompson, who shared a Twitter thread in 2018 describing a number of non-Black public figures who had used cosmetic procedures, Photoshop, and makeup to make themselves appear Black or mixed race, is responsible for coining the term ‘Blackfishing.’
Furious Fans took to Twitter to slam Iggy Azalea for ‘obviously blackfishing’
The Australian rapper claimed it was just because she was wearing a black wig when fans noticed the 31-year-old’s skin appeared darker in the music video for I Am the Strip Club. Blackfishing is the practice of using cosmetics or tanning to give the appearance of darker skin. Furious fans criticized the rapper on Twitter for “blackfishing” after her new music video dropped on Friday.
In response to the music video, one fan shared a scene from Tropic Thunder (2008) in which a character exclaimed to another, “You’re Australian! Be Australian! Excuse me, Kangaroo Jack.”
Iggy Azalea, however, insisted that she was using the same shade of foundation that she had been using for the previous three years. She posted a picture of foundation swatches on an arm to Twitter with the caption, “This is the color I wear; it’s on the arm color of a tan white person. I’m not wearing crazy dark makeup at ALL,” she continued. “Everyone in the club scene looks darker, it’s a club scene! I’m sick of ppl trying to twist my words or make s**t a problem when all I’ve done is try a hair color.”
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Iggy Azalea defends herself against accusations of blackfishing
Some netizens have compared it to blackface, the racist tradition that dates back centuries in which a non-Black person would put on dark makeup to mock the features of Black people. But Iggy Azalea, whose real name is Amethyst Kelly, quickly learned of the accusations and called them “ridiculous and baseless,” while adamantly claiming that she did not appear any darker in the video than she usually does. She also said she didn’t “care” and “f**k those people” to her supporters who stood up for her.
Later, the rapper made a point to thank those who had supported her as well as those who had mocked her, claiming that doing so would increase her sales. The celebrity responded to the criticism by defending herself once more and sharing a picture of the particular product she uses. The Fancy singer continued by tweeting that the video was filmed “in a dimly lit room with red lights. It’s the same makeup from every other part of the video just with a Smokey eye and different wig.”
I’m the same color as I always am, just in a dimly lit room with red lights.
It’s the same makeup from every other part of the video just with a Smokey eye and different wig.
Just ignore them, who cares?
Let em talk.— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) July 2, 2021
In her celebration of the music video’s success on Sunday, Azalea thanked her fans and “everyone showing me hate” and seemed eager to put the matter to rest. Azalea wore a stomach-baring outfit while riding on the back of a motorcycle in the I Am the Strip Club music video. Blackfishing has previously been leveled against Kylie Jenner’s younger sisters, Kim Kardashian, and Khloé Kardashian.
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Source: Twitter
