Bob Marley’s granddaughter Selah Marley vows not to be silenced by critics of her wearing ‘White Lives Matter’ top with Kanye West
Bob Marley’s granddaughter has vowed not to be silenced by critics of her wearing a ‘White Lives Matter’ top with Kanye West.
Selah Marley, 23, modelled a T-shirt with the slogan at the 45-year-old rapper’s Paris Fashion Week show on Monday (03.10.22) and has now said those offended by the move are suffering from a “hive mentality”.
She also used her @selah Instagram account to share a text she sent to a number she believed was Kanye’s, which said she wanted to explore the “depth behind” the “conversation” they had started with his runway show.
She said to her critics in a message on her Instagram stories on the controversy, posted on Tuesday (04.10.22) in completely capitalised white lettering on a black background: “The past 24 hours has allowed me to realise that most of yall are stuck in a hive mentality.
“You do what the group tells you to think. Witnessing someone break free from ‘the agenda’ sends you all into such a panic that you will do whatever it takes to force them back into the box that you feel they should exist in.
“All morale and empathy is eliminated due to the fact that you feel justified by your emotions. The victim becomes the victimiser. You cannot bully me, manipulate me, or coax me into silence.
“Nor will you bully me into being who you want me to be. I don’t care how many tweets you make, DMs you send, or articles you write.
“Throughout all of the chaos, I have yet to speak on my experience. If you know me, you know that nothing I do is without deep thought and intention.
“Wait till you hear what I have to say.”
In her message sent to Kanye, Selah added: “Hey ye is this your actual number?... I think that what we did has obviously created a lot of conversation and I would like us to continue that conversation.
“I love taking risks and embracing freedom, but in this case, I think we can continue to discuss the depth behind our decisions to show the purity of our intentions and provide healing to our community.
“Love you so much. Let’s keep this going – in a healthy way.”
Selah, the daughter of ex-Fugees frontwoman Lauryn Hill, 47, was born during the singer’s relationship with the late Bob Marley’s son Rohan Marley, 50 who were together from 1996 to 2009.
She has called Kanye an “inspiration” and said he is “passionate” and “always thinks outside the box”.
Kanye has recently also stoked controversy by aligning himself with Donald Trump and declaring “slavery was a choice”.
His spokesman Jason Lee quit in protest over the rapper’s Paris show, saying Kanye was “gaslighting black people” and “empowering white supremacy”.
A Black Lives Matter spokesman has said: “The stunt was a clear affront to Black Lives Matter, which has been measured as the largest racial justice movement in history.
“Black models walked the runway wearing the same slogan. ‘All Lives Matter’ and ‘White Lives Matter’ have long served as violent retorts to the Black Lives Matter movement, used by white supremacists and hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.”
