Azealia Banks Loses Gig After Racist Twitter Rant At Zayn Malik
Recently, rapper Azealia Banks went after Zayn Malik in a string of racist and homophobic tweets, making fun of the singer’s Muslim roots. Due to her racist tweets, Banks has been kicked out of headlining a London festival.
In a statement, Rinse FM said it was planning to drop her from the festival due to her horrible remarks.
“We have decided to cancel Azealia Banks’ headline appearance at Rinse Born & Bred. Rinse Born & Bred is a celebration of rave culture and has been created for EVERYONE. We celebrate inclusivity and equality.”
So, why did the string of racist tweets happen? Well, Azealia Banks called Zayn Malik out on social media for having a similar aesthetic for his new music video “Like I Would.” Banks accused him of plagiarizing her look from the “Yung Rapunxel” video. When Zayn made a cryptic tweet that many thought was for Azealia, that’s when she decided to attack him on Twitter.
My @’s too good for you
— zayn (@zaynmalik) May 10, 2016
She responded by saying, “@zaynmalik lol u a b***h n***a for even responding like that. Keep sucking this yung rapunxel d**k u hairy curry scented b–ch.”
In another tweet she said, “@zaynmalik you a d**k rider for real for real. Ride this d**k until the wheels fall off Punjab.”
Zayn eventually responded with one single tweet to Banks, “Why you been saying nasty things about me? I wasn’t talking about you.”
Azealia responded by saying that America was going to obliterate his whole family.
That said, some people didn’t want to waste the opportunity and made the phrase “curry scented b***h” a celebratory phrase by posting photos along with the new hashtag.
Most of what she tweeted we can’t publish, and even if we could, she decided to delete all of her tweets. Banks did give an explanation on why she decided to attack Zayn Malik.
In a statement, Azealia Banks said, “I said what I said to Zayn because I was angry. I felt as if he was too good to acknowledge me yet not to good to copy my creativity. i had to remind him that were [sic] both in the same boat in this industry and people of color. By reminding him that no matter what you may think of yourself, the world still sees you as ‘other.'”
She followed that up with another tweet,
Resisting The Urge to say loads more terrible things to each and every one of u’s
— BRUJA DEL BLOQUE (@AZEALIABANKS) May 11, 2016
In response to her cancelled gig, Banks tweeted and then deleted, “I expect a ‘we are the world’ style Azealia Banks diss track soon.” Whatever that means.
This isn’t the only controversy Banks has caused in her short career. Back in 2013 she took to Twitter to attack the openly gay blogger Perez Hilton. Back then she tweeted a gay slur and told Hilton, “just kill yourself.” GLAAD responded to the controversy by stating, “Banks’ claim that the word ‘fa***t’ doesn’t mean a gay male is not true. Regardless of her intent or her personal definition, what matters is the meaning given to that word by those who hear it, and the damage it causes when they do.”
Although Banks apologized, it doesn’t seem like she has learned much of a lesson.
[Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images]
