Iggy Azalea slams Beyonce’s use of ‘racist’ term
Iggy Azalea has taken aim at Beyonce in a series of tweets for using slang terms to describe a person’s race.
In a track from her new album Lemonade, Beyonce sings about a cheating husband carrying out an affair with a woman she refers to only as “Becky with the good hair”.
There has been plenty of speculation as to who “Becky” is, with many suggesting designer Rachel Roy and British singer Rita Ora — claims both denied.
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Now, Azalea, who rose to fame in 2014 with the song ‘Fancy’, has joined the discussion, but for a different reason. She took issue with the use of the term “Becky” which, in popular culture, is a slang term for a white woman.
In response to a fan calling her Becky, Azalea tweeted “don’t ever call me Becky”.
When fans accused her of trying to equate white racism to the struggle of other minorities, Azalea hit back.
“I don’t care. Don’t call all Asian women ‘ming lee’ don’t call white women ‘becky’ don’t call black women ‘sha nay nay’,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Generalising ANY race by calling them one stereotypical name for said race. I personally don’t think is very cool, the end.”
Azalea was quick to clarify her criticisms weren’t directed at Beyonce but rather a personal statement about her nickname preferences.
“And by the way, this is not Bey shade,” she tweeted. “I love her and the album. But my name is Iggy, and you will all call me that.”
Iggy Azalea is a controversial figure in the world of music. She is a white Australian born in Sydney who gained fame by singing, dancing and wearing clothes in a fashion most commonly associated with black American artists. This has angered some artists and critics, who have accused her of pretending to be something she is not.
Azalea has repeatedly denied appropriating black culture with her music.