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Bob Marley’s granddaughter has criticized people who criticize her for wearing Kanye West’s “White Lives Matter” top — telling them that “you can’t persuade me to shut up.”
Selah Marley, 23, modeled the T-shirt with the slogan on Monday’s runway show at Kanye’s Paris Fashion Week, but the move has been labeled a “stunt” by some.
She texted the 45-year-old rapper after receiving a slew of abuse online for her actions, saying she wants to “continue the conversation with depth and clarity.”
The model also took to Instagram, criticizing people who criticized her for being “stuck in a beehive mentality.”
She refuted her critics, writing, “You can’t bully, manipulate, or silence me. Nor will you intimidate me into being who you want me to be.”
And she said people who hate her about the White Lives Matter shirt “do what the group tells you to do and think what the group tells you to think.”
In a later post, she said, “I’m ready for us to have the conversation. Tell Kanye West to text me when he wakes up so we can continue this conversation and provide the necessary clarity, depth and health that we collectively need.”
Selah Marley (right) stood with Kanye West (left) at his fashion show in Paris, wearing ‘White Lives Matter’ shirts. Both have been intensively researched after the ‘stunt’
She texted the rapper after receiving a lot of abuse online for her actions, saying she wants to “continue the conversation with depth and clarity.”
Model Selah Marley is seen exiting the Proenza Schouler fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 11, 2022
In the messages sent to the rapper, Selah writes: “I think what we did clearly caused a lot of conversation and I’d like to see us continue that conversation.
“I love taking risks and embracing freedom, but in this case I think we can continue to talk about the depth behind our decisions to show the purity of our intentions and bring healing to our community.
‘Love you so much. Let’s continue with this – in a healthy way.”
Selah is the daughter of former Fugees singer Lauryn Hill and the granddaughter of the iconic Bob Marley, a chronicler of black people’s struggle for freedom.
She was born during Hill’s long-term relationship with Rohan Marley, the son of reggae artist Bob Marley. The couple had five children together when they were together between 1996 and 2009. The couple never married.
The model, represented by NEXT Models, was previously the face of Beyonce’s activewear line, Ivy Park SS17. In a 2017, she described West as one of her role models.
Selah said: “He has seen a lot of persecution in the media and by people, but that doesn’t stop him from being who he is.”
She first worked with West in 2017 during New York Fashion Week. Selah fawned on West in an interview with Vogue about what it was like working with the rapper.
Selah added: ‘He’s so passionate about everything, and he makes you look forward to his next move, because he always thinks outside the box.’
The former NYU student described the experience as “exciting and inspiring.”
Selah Marley is seen in a yellow Alexander McQueen dress outside the Alexander McQueen AW22 show on March 15, 2022
Selah is the daughter of former Fugees singer Lauryn Hill and the granddaughter of the iconic Bob Marley (pictured), a chronicler of black people’s struggle for freedom
West and Lauryn Hill have crossed paths in the past. The rapper reused Hill’s Mystery of Inequity in one of his breakthrough hits, 2004’s All Falls Down.
For his 2021 album Donda, West was at it again, sampling Hill’s Doo Wop (That Thing) on his track Believe What I Say. In a 2020 tweet, West referred to Hill as “Our Queen.”
In recent years, Kanye has sided with President Donald Trump and regularly wore a Make America Great Again baseball cap in public.
He also made the controversial statement that “slavery was a choice.”
Kanye West’s spokesperson Jason Lee stopped at the provocative show in Paris in protest, writing on Instagram that West “strengthens black people gaslight and white supremacy.”
“Very humbled and grateful to Ye for the opportunity to work with him, but that part of our relationship has come to an end,” he later wrote on his Instagram Story.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson said the t-shirts were “deeply offensive, violent and dangerous.”
West reacted disdainfully, ridiculing her outfits online and saying she had no idea about fashion.
The rapper and designer hit the global cause on Instagram after wearing a provocative ‘White Lives Matter’ sweater at his surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris on Monday.
Provocation: Kanye West sparked outrage on Tuesday after rejecting Black Lives Matter, the social movement founded to protest social and racial injustices against his own community
But a day later, he insisted that Karefa-Johnson was his “sister” and said they had a two-hour discussion on the issues raised.
Meanwhile, the official Black Lives Matter organization criticized West for trying to kill the movement — accusing his words of harming “thousands of families fighting for justice.”
A Black Lives Matter spokesperson said: “The stunt was a clear insult to Black Lives Matter, which has been measured as the largest racial justice movement in history.
‘Black models walked the catwalk with the same slogan. “All Lives Matter” and “White Lives Matter” have long served as violent responses to the Black Lives Matter movement, used by white supremacists and hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.
In a follow-up statement, Kanye was clear that he intended to kill the Black Lives Matter movement.
‘Black Lives Matter Grassroots sees this as a learning opportunity. Political education is at the heart of what we do.
“While some see Kanye and Candace’s stunt as a distraction, we recognize that it hurts thousands of families fighting for justice for their loved ones murdered by state-sanctioned violence.
It can sow toxic confusion and be used to legitimize violent attacks on black people.
“Battling disinformation while continuing to do the hard work required for liberation is nothing new for us.
Kanye West and Candace Owens have sent millions of people a performative dog whistle. Kanye is well aware that “white lives” have never been the target of oppression.
Black people, on the other hand, are at the bottom of virtually every economic, social and political measure because of centuries of individual and institutional racism.
“Building a world of black freedom means breaking down systems that harm and building new systems of care. Everyone benefits in the end. When black people become free, everyone becomes free.’