Back in 1992, Sir Mix-A-Lot released “Baby Got Back,” his famous ode to big asses that many credit with helping to launch the national butt obsession that continues to this day.
Needless, to say Kim Kardashian owes a lot to the rapper. Blake Lively, on the other hand, is learning the hard way today that Mix-A-Lot’s lyrics are dangerous in the wrong hands.
Last night, Blake posted the above photo of herself at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival with a caption reading, “LA face with an Oakland booty.”
It’s a line from “Baby Got Back,” and Blake clearly meant to call attention to her proudest assets because…having paparazzi scream her name while she walks the red carpet in a gown that costs more than most people’s cars doesn’t do enough for her ego?
We’re not really sure, but the caption did not go over well with some of Blakes’ Instagram followers.
Many have complained that the remark is racially insensitive, as the implication of the lyric is that women from the primarily black and Latino city of Oakland are more blessed in the backside area, and Blake is essentially reducing them to a punchline here.
It’s not the first time that Blake has been accused of co-opting or other cultures or displaying a lack of compassion for the plight of black people in America.
Last year, Lively wrote about her love for the style antebellum South on her short-lived Preserve website.
In case you’re not familiar “antebellum” means pre-war, which in this case means pre-Civil War, which means Blake was waxing nostalgic about a time before slavery was abolished.
The piece was poorly received and may have contributed to the site being shut down.
Most of her press coverage lately has centered around rumors about Blake’s second pregnancy (which she has yet to confirm), and while the 28-year-old was reportedly not happy with the invasion of her privacy, she likely preferred the bump-watch to this current controversy.
We’re not gonna wade into the debate over whether Blake’s caption was inappropriate or simply an innocent (if somewhat insensitive) joke, but we will say we had no idea she was packing such a sizable ‘donk.
And for that, we thank her.
