Is The X Factor's Honey G a 'modern-day blackface'?
Guardian writer takes offence at white female rapper for 'demeaning black culture'
This year's The X Factor contestant Honey G sparked controversy when she was given a place on the live shows despite her questionable vocal talents, Now her act is causing a more serious debate.
The rapper, who performed a rendition of Tupac's California on last Saturday's show, has been accused of cultural appropriation.
Columnist Lola Okolosie, writing in The Guardian, says Honey G is a "modern-day blackface" and viewers who vote for her are "playing a role in demeaning black culture".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The rapper's "tinfoil gold tracksuit, shades and florid hand gestures betray what the whole act is about: a caricature of blackness as stupid and illicit", she adds.
She acknowledges this might not have been the intention, but claims it is "certainly the subtext of her affectations".
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"101871","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
"In all the coverage and reaction to this woman's representation of blackness, there was no comment on how reductive her caricature is. Apparently Honey G is just funny and nothing else. Wrong," she says.
Okolosie's views were echoed by others on Twitter, but many defended the rapper and say the act is self-deprecating rather than demeaning to others. Even Snoop Dogg is said to be a fan.
But Joel Golby at Vice also wonders whether Honey G, who is believed to be a 35-year-old recruitment-firm manager called Anna Gilford in real life, is "problematic".
He says: "She's definitely ticking a lot of boxes on The List of Things That Just Feel Somehow As Though They're Wrong.
"I don't know: I just feel like the end of the Honey G story is her, sat sombrely on the Good Morning Britain sofa, solemnly taking her reflective shades off and fixing the camera with two pink-lidded pinprick eyes, and saying, When I say Sorry, you say For The Racism."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - November 19, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - junk food, health drinks, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Band Aid 40: time to change the tune?
In the Spotlight Band Aid's massively popular 1984 hit raised around £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the charity has generated over £140m in total
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Motherhood: why are we putting it off?
Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
By The Week Staff Published
-
Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?
Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
By The Week Staff Published