Who is Gabriella Karefa-Johnson? Kanye West MAKES UP with Vogue editor as celebs slam rapper for WLM
UPDATE: Kanye West and Gabriella Karefa-Johnson have reportedly settled their feud accrding to the rapper. "Gabby is my sister. Im not letting people go to bed thinking I didn't meet with Gabrielle at 5pm today for 2 hours then we went to dinner at [Ferdi]," he wrote in a caption alongside a photo of Karefa-Johnson.
West also said that Baz Luhrmann had captured the conversation after being told to do so by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and that the footage was being edited.
"We took pics and I was instructed to not post them," he wrote. "It felt like she was being used like Trevor Noah and other Black people to speak on my expression. She expressed that her company did not instruct her to speak on my t shirt expression." Most notably West claimed he and Karefa-Johnson "apologized to each other for the way we made each other feel we actually got along and have both experienced the fight for acceptance in a world that's not our own."
PARIS, FRANCE: Kanye West's latest fashion show has sparked huge controversy after he debuted his "White Lives Matter" sweatshirts, prompting celebrities to allegedly walk out of his show. Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson who was also in attendance at the fashion show and called the shirts "indefensible" "dangerous" and "violent.
West debuted the shirts, which he and conservative Black commentator Candace Owens modeled, during his YZYSZN9 fashion show at Paris Fashion Week on Monday, October 3. Candace Owens had recently called West's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian a "prostitute". West took to Instagram to criticize Karefa-Johnson for calling out his collection. After his broadside many celebrities came forward to defend the Vogue editor.
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The 'White Lives Matter' is a movement that came in response to the 'Black Lives Matter' which gained ground after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. In a series of Instagram posts, West attempted to discredit Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and said, "this is not a fashion person" before sharing the ominous text "this means war". West also shared an exchange of texts with a person called Mowalola, presumably fashion designer Mowalola Ogunlesi who texted West to "not insult the writer" and urged him to "have a real conversation".
Karefa-Johnson shared videos from Ye's show captioned, "Here come the bulls**t. I’m fuming." She added it was "indefensible behavior," while calling the collection "deeply offensive, violent, and dangerous." In response, West told his followers, "You speak on Ye Ima speak on you Ask Trevor Noah." Referring to an incident when Kanye West called out racial slurs against Trevor Noah and branded him a 'k**n' after Trevor said West's treatment toward his ex-wife Kim Kardashian was "terrible to watch."
West also shared a picture of Johnson's Timberland boots and added, "I KNOOOOOOW ANNA HAAAATES THESE BOOTS," referring to Vogue Editor Anna Wintour. He also shared a screenshot of the stylist's Instagram profile and captioned, "Broke the processor When the computer can’t read the code This is a droid" and concluded by saying "This means War." West's criticism even prompted supermodel Gigi Hadid to defend Johnson, with whom Gigi has worked many times in her carrier. While Johnson also claims, she shares a "true friendship" with the model. Hadid wrote, "You wish u had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha…. If there’s actually a point to any of your s**t she might be the only person that could save u."
"As if the 'honor of being invited to your show should keep someone from giving their opinion ..? Lol. You’re a bully and a joke," she said on Instagram. Gigi further went on to add on her story that Karefa-Johnson was "one of the must important voices in our industry and could school that disgraceful man in more ways than he knows." Followed by a lengthy statement from Vogue writer José Criales-Unzueta who accused West of "publicly bullying" the stylist and said of his latest collection, "It's not smart. It's not interesting. It's not nuanced. It's dangerous." After Gigi was spotted at the rapper's show, she made sure there was no doubting her loyalty, "My attendance somewhere does not mean I agree with everything being said in the music playing there. My friends know of my loyalty."
Outspoken West continued to write, "Everyone knows Black Lives Matter was a scam. Now it's over. You're welcome," on his Instagram story. In response to Jack Paul McClinton's question to Van Lathan, "Do white lives not matter?" Van lathan responded, "We don't need a reminder of the worth of white lives. America is a shrine to the worth of white people. This message is reactionary to a message affirming the worth of Black lives, which have never been worth anything in America."
He continued, "In its intent, it's a white supremacist notion. Because it posits that we can't have a conversation about the worth of Black people without having a conversation about the worth of white people, which is f***ing insane. The notion that it ALWAYS has to be about white people in America is incredibly frustrating, emotional draining, and the whole problem. But here's Kanye, apparently centering that notion," he concluded.
Rapper Boosie Badazz, who famously bragged about paying prostitutes to perform oral sex on his son, then 12, and nephew, then, 13, called out on West and said, "After all we been through as a race you put this disrespectful s*t on? U give no fks about how blacks have died n suffered to the hands of the white man n u say Bush don't like black people... really n***a."
Temple University Professor Marc Lamont Hill tweeted the picture of West together with Owen and wrote, "Kanye West decision to wear a 'White Lives Matter' shirt is disgusting, dangerous, and irresponsible. Some of y’all will rush to defend him. You should ask yourselves why…" Former ESPN presenter Jemele Hill said: "So many folks are trying to excuse West wearing a white lives matter t-shirt as just a troll move or marketing. Maybe it is. But it’s a dangerously dumb message to send for someone with his massive platform. I been off dude. But y’all go ahead labeling his foolishness as genius," she added.
Kanye West decision to wear a “White Lives Matter” shirt is disgusting, dangerous, and irresponsible. Some of y’all will rush to defend him. You should ask yourselves why… pic.twitter.com/YT4a6c9tKI
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) October 3, 2022
So many folks are trying to excuse Kanye wearing a white lives matter t-shirt as just a troll move or marketing. Maybe it is. But it’s a dangerously dumb message to send for someone with his massive platform. I been off dude. But y’all go ahead labeling his foolishness as genius.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 3, 2022
Will Smith's son Jaden Smith allegedly walked out of the show after the shirts were debuted and wrote on Twitter. "I Don’t Care Who’s It Is If I Don’t Feel The Message I’m Out." followed by another tweet that read, "Black Lives Matter." Kanye's action even prompted Vogue to come forward in support of Johnson. Vogue's tweet read, "We stand in support of Gabriella Karefa-Johnson our Global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor." Vogue allegedly said she was personally targeted and bullied. Vogue also said in a private meeting with Ye she once again did not fear to speak the truth in a way she felt best.