Rapper Kanye West stirred controversy Monday by wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a surprise Yeezy Season 9 launch at Paris Fashion Week. On the front of the shirt was a picture of Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the phrase “White Lives Matter” is “a racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter, is a neo-Nazi group that is growing into a movement as more and more white supremacist groups take up its slogans and tactics.”
West, who formally changed his name to Ye, was seen with right-wing pundit Candace Owens, who was also wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt. Both Owens and West are Black.
Some models also wore the same “White Lives Matter” shirt.
West has made other controversial efforts to draw attention to his brand. In August, West caused controversy with his Yeezy GAP clothing line by having the pieces displayed in garbage bags at GAP stores.
Some Gap stores did not adhere to West’s decision to put the clothes in garbage bags. He ended his collaboration with the company in September.
At the event in Paris, West delivered an incoherent speech about his struggles within the fashion industry.
The speech and West’s shirt may raise added concerns about how the media covers West, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017.
“The reality is, the media can be culpable and truly damaging people’s lives,” clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior told USA Today. “And when the media frames it as entertainment or a public spectacle, we make it acceptable to talk in this way about any human who is suffering.”
In an interview with David Letterman in 2018, West discussed his mental health.
“When you’re in this state, you’re hyper-paranoid about everything. Everything’s a conspiracy. You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you’re being recorded. You feel all these things,” he said.
