Iggy Azalea Ripped for Cultural Appropriation and Blackfishing

Iggy Azalea has come under fire due to the music video for her song “I Am the Stripclub.” According to the Daily Beast, people have been criticizing Azalea, whose real name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, for blackfishing and cultural appropriation. In fact, those individuals have taken to social media to share their thoughts on Azalea’s controversial music video.

In the video, Azalea, who is several shades darker than her normally fair complexion, dons straight black hair as she dances alongside Black men dressed in leather. It didn’t take long for people to take notice of Azalea’s new look in the music video. On social media, some said that it appeared to be a case of blackfishing, in which a person who is non-POC changes their image in an attempt to appear as though they have Black or Arab ancestry. There were some who did defend the rapper by saying that it seemed to be a case of lighting that made her appear darker. However, others weren’t on board with that argument, with one individual even writing, “It’s cosmetic blackfishing in every which way.”

So, what are others saying about Azalea’s appearance in her latest music video? And what did the rapper herself say about the topic? Read on to find out.

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“This is a bit rough. Not saying she can’t dye her hair, not saying she can’t tan, but it just feels wrong,” one individual wrote. “She sings ‘I’m so fancy’ with blonde hair and light skin and then gets dark hair and darker skin to sing “I am the strip club”. Idk. I don’t like it…”

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Many wrote that Azalea’s appearance looks to be much darker than usual. This led one Twitter user to write, “But it just so happens she’s imitating a black female aesthetic surrounded by a bunch of black people in the background.”

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There were many memes about Azalea’s music video look floating around. They express just how confused some are by her different appearance. 

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“No y’all this is modern blackface. It has to be. Right? Like I’m not black so maybe I can’t make that call but it seems… so wrong to me,” another Twitter user wrote. “This is beyond black fishing. Because no one would think Iggy is black, bc we all know her. So for me it’s just… blackface. Am I wrong?”

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“Back to Blackfishing,” another wrote about Azalea’s look. “Like girl, we know you’re white. That tan ain’t necessary.”

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Azalea published several tweets on the topic in response to the backlash. In her messages, she said that her different appearance is due to the lighting, makeup, and wig that she wore.

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It seems as though Azalea is aware of the backlash. However, it doesn’t appear to be getting to her. 

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Azalea appears to be unfazed by the backlash to her music video. She even referred to the uproar as “nonsense” in one of her tweets.