Gwyneth Paltrow is in the news, but not for a film role or her
fashion statements on the red carpet. Rather, she finds herself in the
midst of a controversy for tweeting the n-word.
The backdrop for all this drama was Paris, where Paltrow was
attending Jay Z and Kanye’s “Watch the Throne” tour with BFF Beyonce.
She was backstage and must have caught a case of rap vapors, because she
was snapped in a photo among hip-hop moguls and then tweeted “Ni**as in
Paris for real.”
The tweet went viral and, well, that’s when Paltrow’s tweet hit the fan!
She immediately tried to contain the controversy by saying in a subsequent tweet: “Hold up, it’s the title of the song!”
Yes, Paltrow was correct, but therein lies most of the problem.
Maybe because of Paltrow’s relationship with some of her high-profile
black buddies she felt comfortable enough and “down” enough to use the
phrase without fear of consequences. I do wonder how the same picture of
Paltrow using another rap song title -- “B*tch better have my money” --
would go over? Do I think she used poor judgment? Yes. But can we
really lay the blame at her feet?
Russell Simmons rushed to Paltrow’s defense (big surprise). In a
recent article he spoke of an earlier concert featuring his protégé Jay
Z, and in an almost dreamy recollection of that concert he shares,
“Every white girl (and there were a lot of them) was singing it to their
man…“Ain’t no n*gga like the one I got!” EVERYONE was singing every
word of every song for the entire set, which ended with “N*ggas In
Paris.” White, black – everyone was singing along.”
Hmm, I wonder if this is the vision Martin Luther King Jr. had of black and white unity?
It seems Paltrow has a lot of black supporters in her posse. Singer
The Dream, who initially claimed to have sent the tweet from Paltrow’s
phone (yeah, right), goes on to school us less-evolved consumers of
popular culture:
"N---a doesn't have any power over me which is why this will be the
last thing I say about it," he wrote. "A word means something when u
react to it! ... Context is everything. Meaning it in the context as a
Song which is how we Sold it to the world!!!!!!”
So, if we follow this logic, then, ladies, the next time some poor
drunk slob calls you a hoe or slut at the club, you should not be
offended and certainly should not react.
Well, I think we all stand corrected by this very informed singer,
rapper and cultural critic on the historical complexities of the n-word
as it relates to the derogatory narrative of a specific marginalized
community and the apparently diminished cultural impact of using the
n-word in a contemporary lyrical context.
According to these so-called artist and media moguls, we are all
being too sensitive and not accepting of their progressive stance on
selling the n-word to the masses while lining their pockets and
elevating their famous profiles.
I have spoken often about the unpredictable and uncomfortable process
of co-opting culture. You do not get to pick and choose how the
mainstream will process and use signifiers of a culture. We cannot hold
Paltrow and others to a different standard when we ourselves cannot
agree and adhere to a similar standard of respect.
The amazing thing to me is that, for some reason, artists like The
Dream, Jay Z and Kanye are fine selling the n-word to the world. But at
what cost? Yes, any artist has some artistic autonomy, but when you are
linked to a marginalized community, you become an extension of that
community and right or wrong a de-facto voice of that community.
Simmons speaks proudly about this utopian culture he and artist like
Jay Z have crafted where black, white and other cultures come together
in a synchronous celebration of the n-word. According to Simmons, they
use it because the n-word is no longer relevant.
I wonder why a word associated with such historical disdain toward
African Americans is so easily cast as irrelevant. Could we get away
with using similarly derogatory terms for other groups while artists get
rich and famous?
Maybe to test this theory, Simmons will be invited to give the
commencement speech at Morehouse and salute the group of hopeful,
educated young, mostly African American men by saying, “Congratulations,
n*ggas!” Or maybe Jay Z will one day refer to his new daughter at her
sweet-16 party as one of the most beautiful n*ggas he has ever seen?
It seems to me that the reason we continue to have controversy over
the n-word is that we are not as evolved as Simmons and other artists
who profit from selling it all nicely wrapped in concerts, bling, music
videos, cars, and general hip-hop culture think we are. Maybe, just
maybe, the word still has more power and is more relevant than they
would have us believe.