Whoa! There’s at least one person who wasn’t completely offended by Kanye West’s decision to wear a “White Lives Matter” shirt this week — and it’s a surprising one.
On Thursday morning, Kanye returned to Instagram to reveal his father, Ray West, really enjoyed his controversial design from the Yeezy show at Paris Fashion Week on Monday. Seriously??
Related: Kim Reveals SHADY AF Texts Kanye Sent About Her Milan Fashion Choices!
To prove his father approved of his political design, Kanye released a screenshot of a text message exchange. In the photo, Ray laughed at the “White Lives Matter” shirt before Ye replied:
“I thought that was so funny
What did you like about it”
Ray went on to acknowledge:
“That a Black Man was declaring the obvious.”
Captioning the exchange, the Heartless rapper explained this is the first time he’s made his father, who has a history of activism, proud. The 45-year-old wrote:
“FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 45 YEARS I MADE MY SUPER EDUCATED FORMER BLACK PANTHER FATHER PROUD”
Wow!
Kanye went on to slam any of his liberal fans by referring to an “NPC” — AKA a “nonplayer character.” Ye’s message concluded:
“And by the way dad There’s an NPC trying to pick on me What should I do”
The term “NPC” was taken from video games and used by MAGA supporters as a way of insulting liberals, who they believe are brainwashed to follow what they’re programmed to. Oh, the irony. Sigh.
(c) Kanye West/Instagram
It’s super inneresting to see this controversial design has actually bonded the son and father. Most fans are well aware of Kanye’s late mother Donda West since he has honored her in several projects, but his father is a little less famous… and there’s a reason.
The two haven’t always been the tightest. Three years after Kanye was born in 1977, his parents got divorced and he moved to Chicago with Donda. Because of this distance, they were not as close, but Ye did spend the summers with his dad in Atlanta and has always insisted his father helped take care of them despite money issues.
Related: Kanye West Says ‘Black Lives Matter Was A Scam’
When the Grammy winner’s mother passed away at just 58 years old after undergoing cosmetic surgery in 2007, he leaned on his dad to get through the tough time. Without one parent, he was determined to get closer to his father, especially after Ray overcame cancer in 2018 and spent some time in America (following a move to the Dominican Republic). They even filmed Ye’s music video for his song Follow God together in 2019 (below):
In a title card at the end of the visual, the performer reflected:
“It took me 42 years to realize that my dad was my best friend.”
Very sweet!
Despite their familial connection, it’s still a bit shocking to see Ray’s reaction to the WLM slogan! The 73-year-old has lived a life committed to social justice — but we wouldn’t have pegged him as a WLM fan before this.
Before working as a photojournalist (among other jobs like a paparazzo and marriage counselor), he joined the Black Panthers in the 60s and 70s. With the civil rights group, he helped fight for an end to police brutality, decent housing and education, and employment opportunities for the Black community, among other things.
But Ray also went above and beyond in other areas. In a 2014 interview with BBC 1, Kanye revealed his father once lived in a homeless shelter to help those struggling, he explained:
“Not because he was homeless, because he wanted to help the ex-drug addicts, he wanted to get that close.”
Wow! He also created the Good Water foundation in the Dominican Republic. Soooo, we have to admit, we wouldn’t have predicted he’d be so light-hearted about this!
“All Lives Matter” was meant as a way to dismiss the statement that Black Lives Matter — which was never intended to mean ONLY Black lives matter, but that they matter, too. Obviously. But “White Lives Matter” — as Vogue‘s Gabriella Karefa-Johnson pointed out — is an endorsement of white supremacist thought about the fear of whites becoming a minority and losing their power. It’s that fear that leads to oppression of other races.
So yeah… this is what father and son can agree on? Are YOU surprised this fashion statement has actually brought them closer?! Let us know your thoughts (below)!
[Image via Kanye West/Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube]
