An associate of rapper Kanye West posted a video to Twitter showing his infamous “White Lives Matter” T-shirts being handed out to homeless people on Skid Row in Los Angeles, CBS News reports.
“They dropped off a big box here and told everybody to come here to pick them up,” said resident Stephanie Arnold-Williams. “I was like this is not a good spot. I don’t think you should bring them here.”
West, who now goes by the name Ye, debuted the shirts at at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, which along with the controversial slogan on the back features an image of Pope John Paul on the front.
From CBS News:
After Paris, Ye told Fox News he thought the shirt’s message was “funny” and “obvious.” Rev. Andy Bales said he wants to give West, who has worked with the Mission in the past, the benefit of the doubt. Bales added that he hoped Ye’s latest stunt is a veiled call for his support of Black Lives Matter.
As the shirts were being handed out, some reportedly expressed confusion, including recipient Damon Willis, who said, “It doesn’t mean anything, what does it mean.”
Load 1 – Skid Röw pic.twitter.com/F9Fh4KGlzp
— Ian Connor (@souljaian) October 17, 2022
“I would say f*** Kanye West for doing this,” Arnold-Williams said. “He should have never done this… The majority of people that have been getting killed are Black people. So, that’s what we’re talking about. So, don’t change the subject. It’s still Black Lives Matter here.”
“Ever since my girl got the shirt she has been getting threats telling her not to wear the shirt or she’s gonna get beat up, stuff like that,” said Willis.
