Katy Perry Blackface Shoes ‘Were Never Intended To Be Offensive,’ Says Singer’s Rep
Last week it was Gucci with egg on their face, and this week singer Katy Perry is joining them with her shoe line which features what looks like a blackface styled shoe, and her company’s response is not satisfying her critics.
TMZ broke the news that Katy Perry’s show line features two shoes that appear to be styled with blackface which has even fans wondering what she and her company are thinking.
The shoes were on sale at Dillard’s and Walmart in slip-on loafer style and as a sandal. The loafer is called “Rue Face Slip-On Loafers,” and the heeled sandal is called the “Ora Face Block Heel Sandal.”
On social media, singer Masika Kalysha commented that nobody should be exempt from being called out or called on to explain such a thoughtless design.
“So we just gonna let Katy Perry slide?”
A rep for the singer says that these two shoes were part of the line designed by Perry, and they were not intended to be offensive.
“In order to be respectful and sensitive the team is in the process of pulling the shoes.”
But many people think this is a little too little and a bit too late and requires a statement directly from the “Eye of the Tiger” singer herself.
@katyperry so this what we doing now?!?! Blackface shoes to go with @gucci blackface sweater?!?! pic.twitter.com/Yuiv1DewWH
— Wait for it…. (@BloopJustSayin) February 10, 2019
On Twitter people are asking Perry if she designed the shoes to be worn with the Gucci blackface sweater that has people scratching their heads and wondering what anyone is thinking when they put a hateful image out there. While some people are defending the singer, others believe even if it was simply based on ignorance, someone along the line had to have known it was offensive.
This latest embarrassing chapter in U.S. history was launched after Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia’s medical school yearbook surfaced from 1984 picturing two men at a party, one in blackface and one dressed as a KKK member (who may or may not be Northam). According to the Inquisitr, this yearbook surfaced at the beginning of Black History Month as a hurtful reminder that this country has not come as far as we think we have.
Though the majority of people have called for Northan to step down, the governor has declined to do so, saying that he will use this event to help heal the state of Virginia, saying that nobody else can do this like a doctor.
Dr. Northam initially apologized and then claimed that he was not in the photo featured in the yearbook.
