Iggy Azalea’s ‘Those People’ Tweet Has Twitter on the Attack

Iggy Azalea lashed out at viewers who criticized her “I Am the Stripclub” music video this weekend, and it only made things worse. The Australian rapper was accused of cultural appropriation, “blackfishing” and even darkening her own skin tone to look like a Black person in her new music video. When she condemned “those people” who were criticizing her, things did not improve.

Azalea is a white rapper and has stirred up lots of controversy in her time for appropriating Black culture for her own profit. She may have crossed a line with “I Am the Stripclub” this weekend, however, as the video shows her in a black wig with dark makeup all over her body, making her skin noticeably darker. The usually blonde-haired singer responded to the criticism on Twitter this weekend, but in doing so she made generalizations about her critics, which did not go over well.

Azalea had conversations with fans about the controversy, writing “f— those people” in one post and “ppl reaching” in another. Fans were quick to point out that this kind of generalization can be offensive too, and Azlea became frustrated as she tried to defend herself more.

Azalea also claimed that controversies like this one do not bother her since she has been through them so many times, although some critics figured that she must be bothered if she is still continuing to respond. Here’s a look at how the conversation has progressed.

‘Those People’

With varying levels of humor, users noted immediately that phrases like “those people” can be offensive and can trigger connotations of racism in a context like this. Some responded with memes indicating how they perceived the comment.

Critics

Many, if not most of Azalea’s critics had pseudonyms on Twitter, so it was difficult to ascertain the race and background of the commenters. However, some argued that Banks should assume her critics were Black, and that they had more authority than her in deciding what is racist or offensive in a case like this.

Defensive

As Azalea continued responding without apologizing for the generalization, many users perceived her as increasingly defensive.

AAVE

Even without the wig, the makeup and the background dancers in this particular video, users argued that Azalea’s whole brand was built on cultural appropriation, starting with the adoption of a Black American accent and the use of African-American Vernacular English (AAVE).

Unnecessary

Azalea’s defenders continued to claim that this whole controversy was blown out of proportion, and voiced their belief that not as many people were really as upset by her video as the comments made it seem.

Familiarity

Azalea responded to one user with a friendly nickname “babe,” and they were not pleased. They got some serious traction in followup posts implying that Azalea is racist.

Promotion

Finally, on Sunday morning Azalea broached the topic once again to sarcastically thank her critics “for dedicating your day to me and helping me promote.” Critics did not appreciate having their concerns reduced to “hate.”