Rapper Iggy Azalea‘s latest visual efforts for her recent single “I Am the Stripclub” is garnering attention from critics for the wrong reasons.
Following the release of the record on Friday, July 2, the Australian native debuted its video in which she appeared peculiarly bronzed, sporting a black wig, surrounded by dancers, several of whom were Black.
The video quickly received pushback from social media users who almost instantly accused the “Fancy” rapper, whose real name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, of “blackfising,” a process in which non-Black people wear makeup to appear darker and emulate mannerisms mainly associated with Black culture.
“I didn’t recognize Iggy Azalea from these photos,” said one Twitter user. “She got rid of the blonde hair and has a spray tan darker than Amber Rose. She is hardcore blackfishing and trolling with the look and the song. Lol. She hid her Black baby for a year too.”
“It’s giving…..black face…black woman….throwing the gays in for “approval”… whew it’s a lot to unpack but good for her,” expressed another. A third person commented, “This is a bit rough. Not saying she can’t dye her hair, not saying she can’t tan, but it just feels wrong….” That person added, “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…”
“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,” wrote a fourth. “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?”
However, the 31-year-old denied those claims, stating that the only difference in her appearance is the change in hair color; the female emcee is known for sporting long blond bone straight hair.
“I can’t care about something that ridiculous and baseless. I’m wearing a shade 6 in armarni foundation, it’s the same shade I’ve worn for the last 3 years,” she explained. “It’s the same shade in every music video since sally Walker. Suddenly I wear a black wig in a club scene & its an issue.”
However, when critics weren’t buying her explanation, she later pointed out the exact shade of makeup she wore, arguing that the lighting in the video made her and her dancers appear darker than usual.
Still, even with the negative attention, Iggy’s video is doing very well as it has garnered nearly three million views on YouTube since its posting.
