About the incident, where actress Gwyneth Paltrow used the term “Ni**as in Paris” to describe her time hanging out with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Spike Lee, and a bunch of other random people in her clique.
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| GWYNETH PALTROW |
When I heard about Gwyneth’s unfortunate use of words on Twitter, I thought to myself, I wonder if she would have said the same thing if she’d been hanging out with Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie? Aren’t they her ni**as too?
The answer to the question above (which I believe is a resounding NO) makes it clear that Gwyneth chose those words specifically to reference the brown-skinned people around her. Mind you, two of them (Jay-Z and Kanye) had just made a song calling themselves “Ni**as in Paris,” but the other people in the picture didn’t write the song.
I’m not sure if they’d want to be referred to as “Gwyneth’s Ni**as,” but since she is a wealthy, famous White woman, they’d probably let her refer to them as her “pet monkeys.”
We should all be concerned with those who travel the world and bastardize the Black experience with buffoonish behavior, taking big paychecks from non-Black people who love for us to entertain them with minstrel shows. This isn’t much different from the big lipped, Black-faced, buck-dancing caricatures that were exploited 100 years ago: Kanye and Jay-Z take an inaccurate version of life in the hood and export it to audiences around the world who pay them to act the way they think “real” Black people are supposed behave.
To some extent, their careers can be compared to the Asian funny man in the film, “The Hangover.” The character, played by Ken Jeong, fits every goofy Asian stereotype known to man. The role has been so successful that Jeong, who went to the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, gave up his medical career to be a full-time Asian buffoon. I’m sure the Asian community is so proud and would love to see their children grow up to be just like Jeong (yes, I’m being sarcastic).
By seeing ourselves portrayed as walking stereotypes and bombarding our kids with images of Black men with 100 pound necklaces, head-to-toe tattoos, and mouths full of metal, we are persuading Black kids to do as Jeong did and pass up opportunities to have respectable lives so they can help White people enjoy their fresh-cooked Negro stereotypes.
The same White guy who would not let your Black butt date his daughter will tell you that you are his “ni**ga” and how cool it was to hear you rap about the “ni**a” you just shot last week.
Perhaps Black people need to reconsider what it means to heavily market the word ni**a to the world. Gwyneth Paltrow is not the one to blame here, for she is simply following Jay-Z and Kanye’s lead. She is no different from the marketing firm that puts out an ad that is heavily racist, because the Black guy in the office said that the ad was not offensive. At worst, Paltrow might need to educate herself on the fact that not every Black person is comfortable with the use of the word “ni**a” and that there are millions of Black people who consider Jay-Z to be an enemy of progress.
As far as Jay-Z and Kanye go, I find it interesting that we’ve gotten to the point where it’s OK to do nearly anything that degrades yourself — as long as someone pays you enough money to do it. Kanye’s mother, the late Donde West, was a well-educated woman who likely taught Kanye that he wasn’t born to be the White man’s ni**a. I’m sure that poor woman is rolling over in her grave as she watches her child voluntarily turn himself into everything she raised him not to be. Donde’s frustration is mimicked by every black parent in America who is forced to watch their child imitate the ignorance being served by 40-year old rappers who see little value in being principled black men.
Gwyneth should apologize for her words; there’s no question about that. The apology is owed to Black people who are offended by a White woman using the N-word to define other Black people around her. As for the self-proclaimed ni**as in the room with Paltrow, I can’t speak for them. As they remain high from the drug of capitalism, I’m sure that they will sell every ounce of dignity they have left before their careers are done…after all, that’s what ni**gas love to do.
Gwyneth Paltrow @GwynethPaltrow
Ni**as in paris for real @mrteriusnash (the dream) tyty, beehigh http://say.ly/ySc3rTP
Followers of “The Avengers” actress immediately took to Twitter to let ‘er rip, letting the actress know how shocked they were at her choice of words.
Two days after the Twitter major faux pas, Paltrow, who claims that she is very good friends with Beyonce, Jay-Z and West alerted fans to the fact that her use of the N-word was all just a misunderstanding and not meant to be derogatory at all:
Gwyneth Paltrow @GwynethPaltrow
Hold up. It’s the title of the song! RT@lovebscott Okay or Not? @GwynethPaltrow Tweets The N-Word: http://www.buzzlov3.com/okay-or-not-gwyneth-paltrow-tweets-the-n-word/http://say.ly/IIs3rY4
Apparently the words that Paltrow used was just a song title that Jay-Z and West sing during their concert tour.
But…
The use of the N-word by Paltrow doesn’t make it right. Perhaps she got all caught up and was just feeling too relaxed around her black friends. She thought it was OK to use the word freely because there wouldn’t be any repercussions? WRONG! Word to the wise Ms. Paltrow, take that word out of your vocabulary because it is NEVER OK to use it!
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