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Internet war breaks out over Kanye West's WLM sweatshirt as THAT Confederate flag pic surfaces

The controversy around rapper wearing the 'White Lives Matter' sweatshirt has now steered discussions towards Kanye wearing the Confederate flag outfit

PARIS, FRANCE: Kanye West jumped head first into yet another controversy after he wore a sweatshirt bearing the words, 'White Lives Matter', for a special Yeezy fashion show on Monday, October 3. Meanwhile, a 2013 picture of him wearing a jacket emblazoned with the Confederate flag reignited discussion on his stand on social issues.

As the rapper flaunted his outfit, some netizens came up with photos of him wearing a Confederate flag patch and even explained how problematic his views are. When the rapper wore the controversial jacket in 2013, he said, “React how you want."

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“Any energy is good energy. You know the Confederate flag represented slavery in a way – that’s my abstract take on what I know about it. So I made the song ‘New Slaves.’ So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It’s my flag. Now, what are you going to do?” to Los Angeles radio station 97.1 AMP. At the time when he wore the outfit with the flag, West had just released 'New Slaves', a song centered on racism in the US. He even went on to sell memorabilia emblazoned with the Confederate flag at his shows.

However, previously, he has stoked similar controversies while making statements on public or social issues. In a discussion with TMZ in 2018, he claimed that slavery in the US, “sounds like a choice". Later, in 2020 as he was running for president, Kanye stated that Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves” and “just had the slaves go work for other white people", reports Forbes. The rapper was also criticized as he wore Trump’s 'Make America Great Again' caps when he visited the former president. Earlier this year, Kanye was temporarily banned from Instagram for racially abusing Trevor Noah. Kanye also went on to say on his Instagram stories on Tuesday, October 4, “Everyone knows that Black Lives Matter was a scam, now its over. You’re welcome.”

'It's not genius'

One of the users asked, "I mean, is it really surprising?," Daniel Newman stated, "but nobody cares Kanye West wore a confederate flag before white lives matter?."  A user also claimed, "I'm still mad at Kanye for waving the Confederate flag as a publicity stunt. 2014. Yup, Ye's been doing this for a decade. It's not cool. It's not genius."

Another user said, "Not surprised by Kanye west, but surprised by people who're surprised by his actions as if this man didn't say that 'slavery was a choice' or made a bomber jacket with a Confederate flag on it and so on ."

Later, a user claimed, "They forget YE also wore a confederate flag march back in 2013. @kanyewest has been doing this for a decade now and practically let it be for attention. React how you want, any energy you got is good energy” "It’s no fluke that White Lives Matter is trending and not YZYSZN9. Kanye West once wore a confederate flag jacket. He's a white supremacist wannabe," said another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online