Iggy Azalea Denies “Ridiculous and Baseless” Blackface Allegations in New Music Video
Iggy Azalea found herself in hot water over Blackfishing allegations this the weekend, but she's not having any of it.
The controversy started after the rapper dropped the music video for her latest single, "I Am The Stripclub." In one particular scene, Azalea dons a black wig in a club while surrounded by a bevy of seductive male dancers, and some fans were left thinking she was Blackfishing — an accusation that someone is using makeup or other methods in an attempt to appear more ethnically Black.
In fact, online retailer Boohoo stirred up the scandal by tweeting, "Iggy Azalea is serving [black heart emoji]," leading droves of fans to comment and speculate.
At first the star attempted to brush off the criticism, tweeting, "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." However, the online fervor continued, leading her to reply directly to the retailer's shade, writing, "For the record; this is vintage Jean Paul Gaultier….but Thankyou" punctuated with her own black heart emoji.
Azalea continued replying to various fans, even name-dropping the specific makeup brand (and shade) she's wearing throughout the entire visual. "I can't care about something that ridiculous and baseless. I'm wearing a shade 6 in armarni foundation, it's the same shade I've worn for the last 3 years. It's the same shade in every music video since sally Walker. Suddenly I wear a black wig in a club scene & its an issue," she shared, referencing "Sally Walker," the lead single of her 2019 album In My Defense.
"This is the color I wear, it’s on the arm color of a tan white person," the rapper added. "I’m not wearing crazy dark makeup at ALL. Everyone in the club scene looks darker, it’s a club scene! I’m sick of ppl trying to twist my words or make shit a problem when all I’ve done is try a hair color."
Check out the music video and Azalea's Twitter defense below.