Last weekend photos of Beyonce posing for French magazine L’Offciel were leaked, and we got a whiff of this foolishness. Some may think its a work of art but many (and i mean many) find the spread blatantly disrespectful. And I'd have to agree. All you Bey minions might throw your "hater" stones at me but wtf ever. Black face was created by racist whites, and it conjures up the memories of a people downtrodden by public humiliation. So the pictures are kind of a slap in the face.
Then, to add insult to injury, the magazine claims the spread is a tribute to the late Fela Kuit. (insert blank stare here) That is the biggest load of...crap I've ever heard. Fela thought the most important thing for Africans to do was to fight European imperialism. But I guess whoever funded this madness figured that since a black person did it then its ok. Way to rationalize. And what blows me is that this hooker actually agreed to it. Whats next? Is Nicki Minaj going to have a shoot in Vogue dressed up as Mammy? I swear I can't deal.
The article also notes that in the photos Bey, who says Kuti was a big inspiration on her upcoming album, has come "far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce" and become more connected with her "African roots". So tell me again how blackface of all things pays homage to this man's legacy for the freedom of blacks throughout the Diaspora. But the crazy thing is that French Vogue was the first to start this madness. They featured a fourteen page editorial on Dutch Model Lara Stone in blackface. *tisk tisk* Somehow, in this mixed up crazy world of ours, one of the most blatant forms of racism is becoming one of the hottest things in (European) fashion.
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