BREAKING NEWS: Rapper Iggy Azalea announced Thursday that she is quitting social media.
According to her Twitter account, Ms. Azalea has decided the evils of social media have once and for all become too much for her to handle, and her management will be running her social media presence from now on.
Celebrities, especially female ones, are no strangers to massive public scrutiny. Ever since Iggy joined the spotlight, though, she seemed to be the target a bit more often and harsher than normal. With an ongoing feud with similarly-named Azalea Banks accusing her of cultural appropriation and ripping off other artists, being named one of the worst dressed at this year’s GRAMMY awards, and even Snoop Dogg attacking her looks and starting a Twitter/Instagram battle between the two, Iggy has finally thrown in the towel after bikini pictures from a romantic vacation in Hawaii leaked.
The catalyst of the Dogg-Azalea feud.
Iggy is not afraid to speak her mind and address the trash-talk she receives, but has mentioned on her Twitter account that it is affecting her mood and health, especially after recently being diagnosed with TMJ. With infamous moments like Britney Spears shaving her head, Amanda Bynes’ schizophrenic episodes and Demi Lovato’s battle with bi-polar and eating disorders, it is no surprise how media attention can affect a star’s personal health. Although almost every female celebrity is subject to “unflattering” pictures, or judged for having cellulite, or their love lives are constantly probed, something about Iggy’s hate goes above that, becoming flat-out bullying.
As a female, white rapper, the artist seems to transcend across multiple levels of criticism.
In Azalea Banks’ beef with Iggy, she is offended by overall racial issues of white people taking ownership of black culture. The message white children receive, she says, “is, ‘You’re great. You’re amazing. You can do whatever you put your mind to.’ And it says to black kids, ‘You don’t have s**t. You don’t own s**t, not even the s**t you created yourself.’”
This isn’t the first time a young white female artist has received this type of criticism. Remember when 2013 was deemed the year of Miley Cyrus? The singer made headlines, stirred controversy, and angered many with her twerking. Cyrus’ behaviors that year proved that for some artists, in order to get attention, it has to be negative. Iggy, similarly outspoken, is the new white female target accused of cultural appropriation. Even Taylor Swift was not spared when her Shake It Off video was convicted of being offensive for its black hip-hop backup dancers.
I can’t say Iggy’s music is anything to be highly regarded, but attacking her to the point of causing health problems and forcing her to swear off the Internet is completely past the point of acceptable. When women are still only making 78 cents to a man’s dollar, shouldn’t we be heralding any women nominated for multiple Grammy awards? Shouldn’t we breathe relief when women are empowered enough to speak their minds, when just last century women couldn’t even vote?
In the small minority that is in defense of Iggy Azalea, supporters claim that she is ignorant of being racist, and that she is just working in a genre she has loved since growing up in a small Australian town.
With that being said, can’t we just be thankful that more women are breaking through and succeeding in the majority man’s world of hip hop music?
The only woman on iTunes’ Rap/Hip-Hop Top 20 songs besides Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea is just being herself, which, beginning today, is now controlled online by her management.
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