Fans Accuse Iggy Azalea of Blackfishing in Her Music Video for 'I Am the Stripclub'
Published July 5 2021, 1:46 p.m. ET
One of the worst things anyone can do is commit blackfishing. Blackfishing is known as the act of non-POC appearing to look or act like a Black person. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Rita Ora, and more have been called out by people on social media for blackfishing. Now, Iggy Azalea is feeling the heat.
After the rapper's music video for “I Am the Stripclub'' was released on July 2, 2021, fans noticed a change in her skin tone. Naturally, many people have a slew of questions. Is the Australian rapper guilty of blackfishing? Read on as we give you the lowdown.
Social media believes that Iggy Azalea is blackfishing in her new music video, but she says otherwise.
Social media users are pretty quick to show celebrities praise or call them out for their missteps. And since Iggy’s music video “I Am the Stripclub” has gone viral, a majority of the comments about her appearance have been unfavorable.
In the video, the rapper can be seen flaunting a darker skin tone with long black hair while being surrounded by various Black men. Since Iggy is known to have a pretty fair complexion, many social media users were not pleased.
Some fans were quick to jump to Iggy’s defense saying that she’s not blackfishing and her darker skin tone is due to the lighting. But, others accused her of trolling everyone — especially since they believe that she has been blackfishing for years.
Iggy quickly clapped back at naysayers while responding to a tweet about her appearance.
“I’m the same color as I always am, just in a dimly lit room with red lights.” she wrote. “It’s the same makeup from every other part of the video just with a smokey eye and a different wig. Just ignore them. Who cares? Let them talk.”
Is Iggy Azalea Black? The rapper claims to have Aboriginal Australian ancestry.
Since Iggy is being accused of blackfishing, some people are wondering if she’s actually Black. But, Iggy has never come out and claimed that she has African ancestry.
In an interview with Complex, the rapper shed some light on her family background.
“My family’s been in that country for a long time, over 100 years,” Iggy told the outlet. “If your family’s lived in Australia for a long time, everyone has a little bit of [Aborigine blood]. I know my family does because we have an eye condition that only Aborigine people have.”
Aside from her ancestry, Iggy has always considered herself to be a white woman. Whether or not she does have Black ancestry, committing the act of blackfishing is something that won’t sit right with many people.
Iggy has decided to take the high road and ignore social media users, but the accusations of blackfishing will likely continue to run rampant.
