Kanye West staged a Yeezy show and made headlines earlier this week for wearing a White Lives Matter t-shirt that also featured the Pope’s face (and commenting on the Kim Kardashian robbery situation and more). Vogue fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson was critical of the look, and it spurred Ye to go to social media to express a slew of thoughts on the matter. The drama blew up and even the likes of Hailey Bieber and Gigi Hadid have gotten involved. But that hasn’t stopped Ye from writing on the matter.
The full timeline of what has happened since Monday is already pretty extensive, but we've got you covered. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night.
What Kanye West Initially Said About Gabriella Karefa-Johnson
After headlines about the t-shirts ran around, the fashion creator was seemingly not super pumped about those being critical of his big moment (one which also included crystal-covered flip flops). This included a critique from the aforementioned Karefa-Johnson. She did not think a White Lives Matter shirt was the bees knees and he retaliated by releasing now-deleted posts taking aim at the critic. For example, one of those shared a photo of the notable fashion editor seemingly mocking her own taste in fashion that came with the comment:
This is not a fashion person. You speak on Ye ima speak on you.
Doubling down on the matter was not particularly well-received and subsequently, a slew of celebrities spoke out in the Vogue editor’s defense.
Gigi Hadid And Hailey Bieber's Response To Ye
Initially, Gigi Hadid spoke out in a longer and more eloquent post on her Instagram Stories to share her stance on why she is speaking out following the fashion show.
I was trying very hard to not give that man air time, but publicly bullying someone who criticizes your work on your massive platform is another level of ridiculousness to me. If you can’t take it don’t dish it. If you can’t take criticism, specially the smart, nuanced and kind criticism that GKJ provided [on] yesterday’s show, then don’t put work out for public consumption.
She went on to write that Ye is being “immature” and a”bully” before telling the rapper and fasion mogul “enough.” She also wrote:
It’s not smart. It’s not interesting. It’s not nuanced. It’s [dangerous].
Justin Bieber's wife Hailey Bieber also commented on Instagram regarding the matter. She defended GKJ without calling out the rapper in her own post, saying the fashion editor is "the most chic" (though that in itself is in opposition to what Ye seemed to be implying.)
GKJ All DAY, EVERYDAY. My respect for you runs deep my friend! To know you is to adore you and to work with you is an honor. The most kind. The most talented. The most fun. The most chic.
But the story didn't end there.
Not So Fast, Kanye West Says The Two Touched Base
West’s initial response to the t-shirt critique went viral online, with both regular folks and many celebrities seeing his posts. The rapper also defended himself, shared his feelings and said he met “with Gabrielle at 5 p.m today for two hours.” (Note: that's a typo from the star and not CinemaBlend.)
They allegedly also later went to dinner together. He then brought up this controversy related to the Trevor Noah back-and-forth from a couple of months ago.
IT FELT LIKE SHE WAS BEING USED LIKE TREVOR NOAH AND OTHER BLACK PEOPLE TO SPEAK ON MY EXPRESSION. SHE EXPRESSED THAT HER COMPANY DID NOT INSTRUCT HER TO SPEAK ON MY T SHIRT EXPRESSION.
The Trevor Noah comment comes just a couple of months after Ye also had beef with The Daily Show Host. He’d spoke out about feeling Kanye was harassing Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson during a segment on the Comedy Central series he will soon be stepping down from. It seems the rapper still has feelings about what happened on The Daily Show despite Noah later voicing support and saying his critique came from care and not disdain. In the case of Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, it seems he thinks it may be water under the bridge.
WE APOLOGIZED TO EACH OTHER FOR THE WAY WE MADE EACH OTHER FEEL WE ACTUALLY GOT ALONG AND HAVE BOTH EXPERIENCED THE FIGHT FOR ACCEPTANCE IN A WORLD THAT’S NOT OUR OWN. SHE DISAGREED I DISAGREED WE DISAGREED. AT LEAST WE BOTH LOVE FERDIE AND FASHION.
It didn’t end there though. Both Gigi Hadid and other celebs like Hailey Bieber continued to defend the fashion editor with a post. After Kanye West wrote his post to “Gab” and “Gabrielle” the two clapped back with a shared post that noted her name is actually Gabriella Karefa-Johnson. Gabriella, not Gabrielle.
Meanwhile GKJ Is Staying Out Of The Fray
Karefa-Johnson has not confirmed or denied meeting with Kanye West after Monday’s fashion show and the subsequent story that rolled around the Internet, but she has commented about her feelings. She even worked in a Mortal Kombat reference into her lengthy response post. Though it’s worth noting she more touched on belonging to the fashion community and feeling “so blessed” for the support. You can see her full post below.
So, there you have it, it's unclear what, if anything will happen next, but I'd put money on more posts being deleted from Kanye West's Instagram in the near future.
