Iggy Azalea thinks she’s a victim of racism because she’s been called ‘Becky’
We are about to reach Peak Irony with Iggy Azalea, and I can’t help it… I am giggling the entire way through this. First, let’s do some backstory. When Beyonce dropped the lyric “you better call Becky with the good hair” on Saturday night during HBO’s Lemonade, the internet exploded. Most people understood the reference as I understood it: Beyonce was telling her husband to call one of his white side chicks. “Becky with the Good Hair” was, to me, simply a reference to a bland, basic white woman, or perhaps just a non-black woman. As it turns out, some people believe that “Becky” is slang with a more specific meaning, something about blow jays. Perhaps some people combine the two meanings to mean a white woman giving oral sex. Which brings me to Iggy Azalea. On Monday night, she was just sitting on Twitter, interacting with her fans, as one does. One of her “fans” called her a racist and that’s when Iggy sort of had a meltdown, because… she’s been the victim of racism too. Because people have called her Becky. First, she responded by tweeting: “girl BYE. do you know how many time ppl have called me BECKY? it didnt have any kind of positive intention behind it. dont start. generalizing ANY race by calling them one sterotypical name for said race. i personally dont think is very cool, the end.” To which she got some replies: @FameKillz_ the point is: no one likes to be called out their name or generalized. the end. — IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) April 25, 2016 @rNicaRo I love you too, but something doesnt have to be in order for me to be uncomfortable with it. — IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) April 26, 2016 Do you see the argument she’s making? She’s been a victim of racism too, people. She’s been maligned racially because people called her Becky. Iggy continued by tweeting other replies to other people, writing: “Those are my feelings about it because of the way the name has been directed towards me in real life…other people might not mind and that’s fine too, but i personally want to be called by my own name. don’t stress it…its clearly not okay for me to call any other race a generalized name (i agree)…but at the same time, you know its intention is “white” thats why you called me that… to be called a generalized name that gained popularity as a way to describe oral sex and then generally white women. no thanks. [From Iggy’s Twitter] So now outlets are running headlines like “Iggy Azalea slams Beyonce for racism!” And “Iggy Azalea says ‘Becky’ is racist!” I will say that if Iggy doesn’t want to be referred to as a Becky, she should not be. But I’ll also say that I think this might be a case of textbook white fragility, in that Iggy Azalea is a culturally appropriating, racially insensitive white Australian who honestly thinks she too is a victim of racism. For being called Becky. Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.