Selah Marley has faced a wave of online backlash for modeling a “White Lives Matter” shirt by rapper-turned-fashion designer Kanye West at his Paris fashion show, with some arguing that the stunt was reinforcing white supremacy. The granddaughter of the reggae pioneer and daughter of Lauryn Hill took to Instagram on Wednesday to vent and reject the “hive mind mentality” of her critics, writing, “You cannot bully or manipulate me, or coax me into silence.” The 23-year-old model, who also worked with Ye during 2017’s New York Fashion Week, shared her private texts to the artist after the fact. “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,” she wrote to the Donda singer, who took to the platform to share his own message over the controversy. “And for all audience so outraged about my t shirt where was you when I couldn’t see my kids,” he wrote.
Kanye west making Black models wear “ white lives matter” shirts is a culmination of his anti blackness and his immersion in white supremacy ideologies and methods. Disgusting pic.twitter.com/yIaVKPYEBB
— ꧁༺ӄɛɛք ȶʀɨɢɢɛʀɨռɢ ʀǟƈɨֆȶֆ ʍɛɢɦǟռ༻꧂ (@Blu_Alexia_) October 3, 2022
