Gwyneth Paltrow continues to catch flack regarding a recent tweet that referenced Jay-Z and Kanye West’s song “N—s In Paris.” While backstage at the Watch The Throne tour in Paris, Paltrow was thought to have tweeted “N—s in Paris for real.”
While dozens of Twitter users lashed out at her for the use of the word, Russell Simmons and The-Dream defended her.
In a blog, Simmons stated “I have to throw my hand up and stand up for Gwyneth. I know her intentions were not to be offensive … she was just proud of her friend, Jay-Z. My words are in defense of her.”
And in an attempt to do damage control, The-Dream tweeted that he was the one who tweeted from Paltrow’s account. Nice try, but I don’t buy that The-Dream is Paltrow’s designated tweeter.
Of course, Paltrow meant no harm from a racial standpoint. However, the issue is bigger than a white woman who should know better than to use a racial epithet, even during a celebratory moment.
I understand the reason Jay-Z and Kanye West named the song “N—s in Paris.” It’s the notion of rising from poverty, in a nation that considers you a ni–a, and getting to a financial level that allows you to party in a place more glamorous than Las Vegas, New York or Miami.
It’s similar to saying, ” We were poor, we are black and were looked at as ni–as for most of our lives. But look where we are now. We are wealthy. We have made it.”
However, the reality can’t be hidden in a four-minute song. The word still hurts and stings because we remember our past and are facing a disturbing present. In terms of racial progress, we haven’t gotten to a point where it’s cool for white people to think that they can use the N-word indiscriminately, even if it’s in a friendly manner.
Ask the parents of Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, and more recently, Darius Simmons, if they believed their sons were looked at as or even called “ni–a” before they were murdered by white men.
Ask the 13.6 percent of black Americans who are currently unemployed if their potential employer won’t hire them because they are seen as “ni–as.”
And even the blacks who have progressed to the point where they can afford a trip overseas, do foreigners view them as “ni–as” because Jay-Z and Kanye West said it was OK to?
This is not a moment to bash Jay-Z or Kanye West, who have always made great music.
This is a critique of two intelligent black men, and much of hip-hop in general, who made a mistake and sold out their community by broadcasting the word “ni–a” as if racism toward blacks has been eliminated. Gwyneth believes it’s cool to say it because this must be how they — blacks in general — think of themselves. Imagine if Jay-Z and Kanye West were Jewish or Asian. Would a tweet like that even be considered?
But hey, somebody black is partying in Paris. So I guess we’ve all made it. Right? –amir shaw
