Will.I.Am is sticking up for his controversial choice of costume for the 2010 Video Music Awards.


Will.I.Am is sticking up for his controversial choice of costume for the 2010 Video Music Awards.

 
The Black Eyed Peas frontman stunned audiences when he showed up for the VMA pre-show to perform “Check It Out” alongside Nicki Minaj covered head-to-toe in black—including black face paint. While Will may have intended the outfit to be seen as artistic, he missed the mark with many viewers who saw the outfit as nothing more than modern-day Blackface.

 
Those offended by his costume promptly sounded off on Twitter, saying that they thought he’d done a real disservice to Black people by co-signing a racist practice. Will wasn’t about to just stay silent on the matter, though.
 
“1st. just because I where [sic] all black including head mask as expression and emphasize my outfit, it shouldn't be looked at as racial,” Will tweeted Sunday. “Let go of the past. there are far more important things 2 bark about. (Jobs, health, education) not a black man wearing all black everything.”


 
After reading that one person thought his fashion choice set “black people back 100 years,” he rebutted, “Choose your twits wisely. no education sets people back, no jobs, bad health.”
 
Although Will has been fairly vocal on the matter, Nicki hasn’t made any comments about it yet.

-- Sonya Eskridge


Here’s more:
Replay: 2010 VMA performances