On Monday [April 25] Iggy Azalea took to Twitter to discuss her thoughts on Beyoncé‘s recent use of the word “Becky”—not to figure out who she is, but to claim using the term to describe all white women is racist.
In the tweets, which have since been deleted, Iggy states “generalizing any race by one name isn’t cool” and that she herself has been referred to as a “Becky” so she knows it’s derogatory.
It’s an interesting perspective coming from Azalea, who’s not only been called out for cultural appropriation but also tweeting out seemingly racist and discriminatory tweets herself.
Iggy’s complaint was then echoed by a list of off-putting examples, claiming that just as Asian women shouldn’t be known as “Ming Lee” and Black women as “Sha Nay Nay,” the use of “Becky” is just as inappropriate.
She’s obviously forgotten the time she said this, obvs.
Ignorant tweets aside, many are not only criticizing Iggy’s ability to see what she’s calling a racist lyric in B’s instant hit “Sorry” but also her inability to see the cultural appropriation she’s been doing since the beginning of her career.
Although the conversation started with Beyoncé, Iggy also clarified Plies‘s definition of being “good at oral sex” was unacceptable as well.
While she has a point that using any one stereotypical name to generalize an entire race of people is inappropriate, that’s never been the case with “Becky.” Since it’s intrusion in Hip Hop, the term Becky is rarely used to degrade an entire race, more aptly used to refer to a type of white girl.
Iggy may have come to her senses because the tweets have since been deleted, but not before she told fans to call her by her name and her name only.
