BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Kanye 'Ye' West is facing controversy after wearing a shirt reading 'White Lives Matter' on Monday. News outlets reported Wednesday that he's also drawing criticism from a prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery.
The musician and designer, who officially changed his name to 'Ye' last year, was attending a fashion show in Paris at the time the photo was taken. He continued to drive home his message on Instagram in the days that followed, posting Wednesday night that he was proud to have taken all the attention at the show with his T-shirt.
Through her attorney, Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told Rolling Stone that the display "flies directly in the face" of West's previous statements and support to her family, the outlet reported. Arbery was killed in a hate crime at the age of 25 when he was hunted down and shot while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood.
ABC reported in June of 2020 that in addition to offering to pay the college education of Gianna Floyd, George Floyd's daughter, West had pledged to paying legal fees for Arbery's family.
In their reporting, Rolling Stone said the family has confirmed that West had given some financial support to Arbery’s family, but did not say the amount.
In a statement released to ABC News through her attorney Lee Merritt, Cooper-Jones expressed her “extreme disappointment” in West for printing 'White Lives Matter' on clothing from his collection. West was at a Paris fashion show to advertise the collection when the controversial photos were taken.
Rolling Stone reported that on Cooper-Jones's behalf, Merritt said:
“As a result of his display ‘White Lives Matter’ started trending in the U.S., which would direct support and legitimize extremist behavior, [much] like the behavior that took the life of her son,” Cooper-Jones relayed through Merritt. “That is the thing that Wanda and families like hers continue to fight against. This mockery of the Black Lives Matter movement and his now denunciation of the movement as some sort of hoax flies directly in the face of what he’s said. It’s confusing for her, it’s confusing for the families to receive his support privately, but publicly to set us all back.”
