Sky Ferreira... Racist?

[trayertrash]

Several people across multiple media sites have accused Sky Ferreira of being racist

"I'm tired of seeing black people used as props," said one Facebook user, while another tweeted: "a #racist mess. She, white woman, dances in Compton in front of #POC [people of colour]". Other comments included "Just because racism isn't intentional or blatant doesn't mean it's not racism", and "these actors BECAUSE of their skin color are automatically reduced to the neighborhood setting you shot this video in"

Sky fired back at the accusations via facebook

Thank you so much for the love & support of the video. It's something that means a lot to me. I've never seen such a big response from my fans before

I've been reading some of the responses and I had a few thoughts:

Some people are accusing of being racist. I usually do not need to feel the need to explain myself(which I'm not) but I DO feel the need to share my thoughts on the situation. Nothing upsets me more than being called racist because that is one of the most hateful things anyone can be. Not only do I find it insulting towards myself but I also feel insulted for the actors & dancers & my family in the video. No, I did not use black back up dancers as "props". I never have and never will look at any human being as a prop. That's disgusting. It's also an idea that has never crossed my mind,which is what I find questionable of the people telling me that I did so.Dancers are objects?!?!?! How dare you! Dancers make things come to life. If they were white would they be considered "props"? I auditioned a bunch of dancers,all races & my dancers were the best ones. I know that you have to be socially aware & mindful of others but when I look at this video I don't see race as a issue.Stop trying to search for something that isn't there. Comments like "rich little white girl exploiting the black people & the ghetto"...I never exploited anyone & I don't use people in any shape or form. My brother is half black. My cousins are black. My family is Latina & Native American. Some of my family is in the video.I wasn't raised in a "white" house hold & I'm not little & I have financially supported myself since I was 15 years old. I'm a woman,not a fucking little girl. Because I have pale skin & green eyes doesn't mean I was raised in Beverly Hills and have Swedish film investor parents or whatever some have created in their minds. Would you feel more at ease if I danced with a bunch blonde white boys at a mall? Should I consciously only cast white dancers for now on? If I'm racist does that mean you're pro-segregation?! I'm from LA & shot the video there. I referenced 90s hip hop videos and Michael Jackson because both of those things inspire me & played a big part of my childhood. The only thing I'm sorry for is if this post seems to come off self defensive,which it isn't meant to be...but I had to share these thoughts because it drove me up the wall. Don't demean the actors & dancers in the video. They are more well spoken & aware than you and I will ever be. Please do research before you make such shitty accusations about people. Anyways...Thank you SSENSE & Atom Factory Management & Grant Singer for making this video happen. We have been trying to make it for a while & I'm so glad I get to share it with the world now <3333333

x

Sky

Several hours, she posted

I'm deeply upset about a few things. Not only being called a racist,not only having my thoughts turned around & twisted by other but by the fact that I made this video & people have completely missed the message. This song is one of the most personal songs to me on the album & so was the video. I was putting a lot more about myself out there in this song & video than I ever have before. Even with my post,I was pretty vague about my child hood but still somewhat spoke about. Which I had never done before or felt the need to. It wasn't "a liberal white bullshit defense". If you actually read closely I said that I wasn't defending myself. It was the truth & explaining why some of the video is what it is. I was trying to tell people to stop talking about the people in my video as if they are brainless idiots that were manipulated by me or "my team".The one thing I will not let people think is that I spread hatred towards others. I've had a lot happen to me this year & by making this video it made me feel liberated from some of it. I Blame Myself is empowering but it's also about feeling like I'm in a constant battle & have to fucking scream to actually be heard & still being misunderstood. It's about being HUMAN. My entire life is stay silent & "let people think whatever they want to think" or say something and cross your fingers that someone listens & that people don't write you off as "dumb" or "crazy" or "fake". Whatever. I'm glad I Blame Myself is out there in the world & hopefully people connect to it & it makes someone feel better.

:hail: :hail:

[Baby V Alex]

I sometimes hate this "against racism" people, they are sometimes so  hardcore with their opinions that they end up looking like hardcore christians that nobody takes them seriouslyy btw tweeting "#POC" it's racist  :vacuum:

[Guest kitten]

this whole situation is so fucking annoying. yet i knew it would happen the minute i watched the video.

i wish these "sjw's" would find something productive to do than to nitpick everything every popstar does and call it "racist"

i know for a fact that sky never meant any harm and she never will

[Main Pop Girl]

This is exactly why I can't take Tumblr seriously and ended up leaving it tbh. These people have nothing better to do with their days than accuse popstars of racism while they're behind their computer doing absolutely nothing to end racism or any other problem we have in the world. If someone doesn't have diversity in their videos, they're racist. If someone has too much diversity in their videos, they're racist.

The fact is that 1/3 black men will go to jail and black people are disproportionately charged for non-violent drug offenses compared to white people. Black people are also of a much lower socioeconomic standard than whites. So how could it make sense that she'd be running around with a bunch of middle class Aryans if what she's doing is dealing drugs and getting prosecuted for it? It's clear that American society has bubbles of racism left, especially when it comes to African Americans, but I'm not sure why we're blaming Sky for being honest about it.