Actress Blake Lively Called “Racist” For this Instagram Photo

Blake Lively posted a photo on Instagram and everyone is calling her racist.

Actress Blake Lively posted a photo onto Instagram on May 17th, featuring a split-screen photo of the actress, with one half of the Instagram photo showing her face and the other half, showing off her back. The caption references Bay Area city of Oakland, an area that has a large non-white population.

L.A. face with an Oakland booty

A photo posted by Blake Lively (@blakelively) on May 17, 2016 at 5:04pm PDT

While Blake Lively’s caption is referencing Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” a song which include lyrics that match Lively’s caption, many argue that it’s still racist. According to JE Reich’s from Jezebel, Blake Lively’s Instagram photo is a “diametrical opposition” and metaphorically comparing black people and white people (emphasis my own):

While Lively’s caption is most likely a nod to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s bar-mitzvah staple “Baby Got Back,” which includes lyrics that match Lively’s caption, it’s still problematic. In the end, it touts a diametrical opposition: that Los Angeles can be equated to elegance and/or beauty (read: whiteness), and that Oakland is its foil (read: blackness). [Jezebel]

And Reich is not alone. Many people took to Twitter to bash Blake Lively’s Instagram photos.

I want to follow Blake Lively just to unfollow after this LA/Oakland business. So much privilege even GOOP feels uncomfortable.

— Melinda (@mindamaureen) May 18, 2016

Racist white women got my head shaking so much today it might fall off. #BlakeLively is officially the worst. pic.twitter.com/xXtpjBDkwy

— Jessica Fish (@Fishica) May 18, 2016

@blakelively you obviously use social media so maybe now you can tell us why you got married on a slave plantation pic.twitter.com/hvUZUtdW5Z

— fadumo (@faaaadumo) May 18, 2016

Blake Lively being racist on insta and defending sex offenders all in one week wtf.

— this new devilry (@cinefuck) May 18, 2016

But, not everyone feels the same way about Blake Lively. Several people went online to defend the actress.

Let me get this straight @blakelively quoted a song, written by someone else (and it’s perfectly fine) she quotes it & she’s racist? Wow!

— Caroline Brannigan (@greenfairy90) May 18, 2016

Lol @Jezebel called Blake Lively racist bc they didnt realize she was quoting Sir Mix-A-Lot. Click thirst is SO REAL pic.twitter.com/17vHl2sUAs

— Megan Buerger (@meganbuerger) May 18, 2016

Via Jezebel

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