Travis Scott’s new album, Astroworld, came out on Friday. With it, of course, came the album art.
But the final album cover seemed to have erased a transgender model who appeared in an earlier version.
This has left a number of fans wondering if Travis Scott has a problem with the transgender community. If so … yikes.
Reports say that Travis Scott is planning to propose to Kylie very soon.
Whether or not that’s true, he probably wants to maintain a close relationship with her family.
That would include her father, Caitlyn Jenner, who is the most famous trans woman on the planet.
So why, some wonder, does the final version of his Astroworld album art seem to have conveniently excluded transgender model and performance artist Amanda Lepore?
Here is the version that Travis shared with the world.
That’s quite the image, depicting some sort of naughty erotic amusement park that might perhaps be entered through Travis’ own mouth.
It’s odd and salacious, but perhaps no one would have ever known that anyone was missing had Amanda Lepore not shared it herself.
“It was great being part of @david_lachapelle’s incredible photograph of @travisscott’s albulm cover,” Amanda wrote on Instagram.
“But,” Amanda continues. “I’m curious why I’m not on the picture @travisscott posted.”
Along with her comments, she included a look at the original.
We’re not going to make you spot the difference — if you see her, off to the left, she’s just about mooning the camera. But not in the version that Travis shared.
“A girl can’t help it!” Amanda writes. “Too distracting for the eyes!”
Her theory, which she shares in the captions, is that she must have “upstaged everyone in the photograph!”
“Oh well………..” she writes to show that there is no ill will, adding: “I love @david_lachapelle and @travisscott! Love and kisses”
But what’s the real story?
A number of people, including celebrities within the LGBTQ+ community, were shocked and saddened to see that Amanda had been excluded.
Some commenters came right out and suggested that perhaps Travis Scott had personally ordered that Amanda be scrubbed from the image.
Honestly, that’s a major assumption — especially knowing that many artists may have their album art changed without their knowledge.
Fortunately, the photographer himself came forward to explain what had happened.
“Amanda was taken out because she just upstaged everyone,” Dave LaChapelle writes, adding: “Lol.”
LaChapelle continued, affirming Amanda’s value as a model and performance artist.
“She is in my books and my heart,” LaChapelle writes. “She knows the T.”
T is a slang expression for truth, one particularly common within the LGBTQ+ community and also within African American Vernacular English.
LaChepelle was dismissive of accusations of bigotry.
“Everybody wants to explain everything with some phobia or whatever,” LaChapelle writes under another comment.
LaChapelle adds: “Ain’t notihing to do with hating.”
In fact, TMZ reports that Travis Scott didn’t delete Amanda from his cover. In fact, he apparently didn’t even know about the earlier version.
Sometimes artistic choices can accidentally look really positive or really negative when they’re just based upon the aesthetic of a photograph.
So, is this likely to get Travis in trouble with Caitlyn?
Probably not, actually.
For one thing, Cait may have caused trouble for the Kardashians, but Kylie is her youngest. We don’t know how willing she would be to stir thet pot.
But beyond that, Amanda Lepore is a performance artist. Amanda’s look is about more than just gender expression — it’s art in and of itself.
That’s a little different than the vast majority of transgender folks. Some have suggested that Cait wouldn’t race to defend Amanda’s honor because Amanda is outside of the mainstream.
But we can’t speak to Caitlyn Jenner’s thoughts or feelings on the matter until she actually comments. If she even chooses to do so.
