A$AP Rocky is often praised for his influential music style and unique fashion choices. However, the rapper is currently facing backlash over his latest controversial piece of jewelry.
On Thursday, July 20, Rocky uploaded a now-deleted black-and-white photo of his new “Z” symbol pendant. The diamond-encrusted chain caused a stir after a Twitter user pointed out that it was made up of three small Russian T-90 Tanks.
Social media users quickly began to assume that Rocky was showing support for Russia in the midst of the country’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine, according to Kurrco.
Russians who support the Ukraine invasion have adopted the “Z” symbol — which does not appear in the Cyrillic alphabet — has been adopted by Russian supporters of the invasion that began in February 2022, painting the letter on war vehicles as graffiti or wearing it.
The Twitter user shared a screenshot of the deleted post along with another screenshot of comments from Rocky’s outraged fans.
Some of the remarks include: “Disappointing and disrespectful” and “I was your fan my whole life, but now you are dead to me. your music as well. hope you like lick russian a$$.”
A third individual said, “Reported for supporting genocide.”
While several fans seemed to be disappointed, others stood ten toes down behind Rocky and defended his name against critics.
“Y’all thinking ASAP Rocky of all ppl is doing some deep meaningful s–t is why I can’t take y’all seriously.”
“Thinking asap rocky would be this involved in the russia/ukraine conflict is f—–g hilarious.”
“I’m actually very tired of fake outrage.”
“Douche. RiRi will straighten this out.”
“I promise you, Rocky has no idea what’s going on in Ukraine.”
Despite critics’ outrage, Kurrco’s tweet also notes that the “Z” pendant could also represent his and Rihanna‘s son, RZA, who was named after a legendary Wu-Tang Clan rapper.
The couple welcomed their first child in May 2022 and are currently preparing for the birth of their second child. The gender of the unborn baby has not yet been announced.
34-year-old Rocky was trending earlier this week after fans showed love to his newest commercial, which featured the voice of his girlfriend of over two years.
The beloved singer is out of the frame, but her distinctive accent can be heard as she orders Rocky to go to the store and purchase diapers in an ad campaign for Dr. Dre‘s new headphones, Beats Studio Pr.
Rihanna and Rocky were also in the news last month due to fans speculating that the beloved couple had secretly got hitched.
The rumor started after the rapper called the Grammy winner his “beautiful wife” while performing his song “D.M.B” at Spotify’s Beach concert lineup on Wednesday, June 21.
During an interview with GQ Magazine, Rocky described the “We Found Love” songstress as the love of his life.
