As Paula Deen’s miserable N-word controversy rages on, fans and celebs alike have been weighing in on the matter with a barrage of both supportive and critical comments. Recently, though, Ciara was asked to give her take on the topic and the use of the N-word in her own music.
Ciara delved into the heated topic during a recent appearance on “Access Hollywood Live,” Ciara engaged in a general discussion with the hosts of the show as well as actress Dania Ramirez and Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis about the controversy. When asked about her use of the word in her Nicki Minaj-assisted single “I’m Out,” Ciara explained that context and the word’ s user makes a difference.
“As an entertainer you have fun and it’s all about the context it’s used in. I am an African-American woman, so I can identify with that word in different ways, but it’s all about the context,” Ciara explained.
“In my case, I can have fun because I know where I’m coming from with it,” Ciara continued. “If we have fun with it and you can understand where it’s coming from, then you can probably receive it in that way, but when it’s used in a way that’s derogatory… I am an African-American woman, I have the power to speak in a light-hearted way about it. From my perspective, I can have fun with it because I know the core and where it comes from. I cannot hear another person of another race saying, ‘You this and you that.’ It’s all about how you say it, and what context it’s used in. That word has as much power as you give it… It doesn’t mean the same thing that it could have meant years ago.”
The cultural debate about the N-word still has a long way to go, but it’s clear that the word has many emotional charges to many people.
Ciara’s not the only one who had an opinion on it: – nicholas robinson
