By: N.L. Preston
HOUSTON –That Black Twitter is a bad mother –shut yo mouth — when it comes to stings from the Bey Hive for anyone who attacks Queen Bey…or her little princess, in this case.
A very foolish K. Austin Collins, a Vanity Fair film and TV critic, attacked Blue Ivy Carter, daughter of Houston’s Beyonce Knowles Carter and Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, basically calling the child “ugly” because she has many of her father’s features.
Not only was it disgusting for a grown professional to attack a child, but it definitely led to a Kevin Hart “You gon’ learn today” moment that lit the Internet on fire.
It all started after another H-Town diva, Megan Thee Stallion, posted a New Year’s Eve picture of her, Beyonce and Blue Ivy on Instagram and Twitter. Little Blue was rocking a silk press, a big girl hairstyle much different from the natural puffs she usually dons.
“I have a feeling the jay z face genes are about to really hit Blue Ivy and I feel so sorry for her,” Collins posted.
What in the heck did he do that for? And he wasn’t the only “adult” and “media professional” who undoubtedly wishes they could have kept their two cents in their pocket.
Harper’s magazine journalist, Violet Lucca, suggested that the 7-year-old may want to look into surgery when she gets older, like Kylie Jenner. Say what?
Well…let the dragging begin!
Black Twitter lit up Collins (a black man) and Lucca (a white woman), and there’s no question of who won the battle and who had to wave the white flag of defeat.
One commenter appropriately wrote in response to Lucca’s tweet, “There’s nothing harmless about insulting a child’s features regardless of whether that child has famous parents or not. There’s no value in colorism, anti-blackness or attempting to pretend that class is a justification for targeting a 7 year old with insults.”
In case anyone is confused about why people are upset @melvillmatic insults Blue Ivy (a child!) & then @unbuttonmyeyes replies with a crack about plastic surgery. Now he works for @VanityFair & she works @Harpers in case you ever wondered about media influence & misogynoir pic.twitter.com/RqwTPWVvpX
— Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) January 1, 2020
Collins and Vanity Fair have issued apologies, but it may be too little, too late.
“I’m sorry about the Blue Ivy tweet — bad joke, and black girls, in particular, deserve better,” Collins wrote.
I’m sorry about the Blue Ivy tweet — bad joke, and black girls in particular deserve better.
— k austin collins (@melvillmatic) January 2, 2020
“Vanity Fair regrets that our critic K. Austin Collins tweeted an inappropriate comment about Blue Ivy Carter and Jay-Z that violated the magazine’s standards and conflicted with our values,” a spokesperson for the publication said in a statement. “We agree with Kam’s decision to delete the tweet, and we join him in apologizing for it.”
Lucca did a little violin stringing of her own, complaining about being called an old, ugly racist due to her comments. Her series of back-tracking sympathy tweets included:
“I’m not playing the victim…sorry that I insulted Beyoncé’s daughter by suggesting that she might get plastic surgery someday, like many children of famous people do.”
And another which read, “I’m truly sorry to anyone who was reminded of past hurt because of my comments. I truly believe Blue Ivy will go to the grave without knowing who I am, which is neither here nor there, but on the off chance she sees it—I’m sorry, young lady. You’re gonna go far no matter what.”
I’m not playing the victim…sorry that I insulted Beyoncé’s daughter by suggesting that she might get plastic surgery some day, like many children of famous people do.
— Violet Lucca (@unbuttonmyeyes) January 2, 2020
And we have to agree with Lucca. No chick, Blue Ivy will likely never cross paths with you or ever meet you in person, her platform is already much higher than yours.
So, in the wise words of our former first lady Michelle Obama, “When they go low, we go high,” and on behalf of all little black girls with natural hair, wide noses and the features of their mothers and fathers — Like Beyonce says, “to the left, to the left.”
