Russell Simmons has created an enemy in Vogue’s former editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley. Last month Simmons was blasted after he shared a video of an actress depicting abolitionist Harriet Tubman seducing white slave owners. The Def Jam founder claims he was surprised by the backlash, but appreciated the feedback.
During New York Fashion week, Talley sat down with theGrio’s Chris Witherspoon to talk about the “marriage of hip-hop and high fashion, and also weighed in on Simmons’ video parody.
On Jay Z’s track “Tom Ford,” from his Magna Carta Holy Grail album:
“Tom Ford probably is flattered. Remember, Beyoncé walked in his first show in New York when he came back to women’s clothing, about four or five years ago. So, it’s of course a compliment to Tom Ford…The hip-hop moguls and hip-hop icons love Tom Ford. The marriage of hip-hop and fashion it’s a fluid thing, it’s an organic thing.”
On spotting Simmons front row at Fashion Week:
“I think anyone that is a person of achievement on the front row that has achieved a great deal be they black or white is a good thing. I don’t think Russell Simmons should be seated on anybody’s front row this week after having done that disgusting Harriet Tubman sex tape. He is a man of great achievement. He is a great philanthropist….why would he think it would be an honorable thing to do? He said he thought it was funny. That is not funny it is outrageously disrespectful to the legacy and history of Harriet Tubman and to the struggle.”
We couldn’t agree more.
