Selah Marley. Source: Anthony Ghnassia / Getty
Model Selah Marley has been under fire for appearing in the YZY Season 9 fashion show wearing the controversial “White Lives Matter shirt.” After Twitter began casting stones her way, she didn’t stray away and made sure to respond. Marley, who is Lauryn Hill’s daughter, posted a lengthy statement via social media addressing her critics.
The past 24 hours has allowed me to realize that most of yall are stuck in a hive mentality. You do what the group tells you to do and think what the group tells you to think. Witnessing someone break free from ‘the agenda’ sends you all into such a panic that you will do whatever it takes to force them back into the box that you feel they should exist in.
You cannot bully me, manipulate me, or coax me into silence. Nor will you bully me into being who I don’t want to be. I don’t care how many tweets you make, DMs you send, or articles you write.
Throughout all the chaos, I have yet to speak about my experience. If you know me, you know that nothing I do is without deep thought and intention. Wait til you hear what I have to say.
While the back of the shirt read “White Lives Matter,” the front of the shirt had a picture of the pope.
The 23-year-old followed up her rebuttal with screenshot of texts sent to Kanye West encouraging him to keep the controversy going with her help.
I think that what we did has obviously created a lot of conversation and I would like us to continue that conversation.
I love taking risks and embracing freedom, but in this case, I think we can continue to discuss the depth behind our decisions to show the purity of our intentions and provide healing to our community.
Love you so much. Let’s keep this going – in a healthy way.
Candace Owens also received backlash for wearing the “White Lives Matter” shirt.
