Gwyneth Paltrow Tweets About Her N*ggas In Paris; World Gasps In Response

[Jerry Oz]

Although I find all versions and uses of the N-word personally offensive, I found it hard to think that she was out of line for dropping the bomb while hanging out with her close friends, Jay-Z and Beyonce. People are flying off the handle but I think it's a little overblown. It's not like she was using it while addressing a klan rally, she tweeted it with two friends that she was chilling with in Paris.

Folks: if you're going to be pissed at her for tweeting it, then you should be pissed at Jay-Z and every other rapper for using it in their records. I'd be fine with that. SMH.

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/hip-hop-media-training/jay-z-kanye-blame-gwyneth-paltrow-inappropriate-n-235602587.html

Jay-Z And Kanye To Blame For Gwyneth Paltrow’s Use Of N-WordActress Gwyneth Paltrow has come under attack for using the N-word when referring to a photo of two of her African American friends Jay-Z and Beyonce.
When partying on stage with the couple during a Jay-Z and Kanye Watch The Throne stop in Paris Friday, Paltrow tweeted a photo with the message, "Ni**as in paris for real @mrteiusnash [[the dream) tyty, beehigh [[https://twitter.com/GwynethPaltrow/status/208693551163379712)."
Many who took offense to Paltrow using the derogatory term slammed her online. Amanda Seales called Paltrow's comment "wreckless." A post on popular African American blog site,Bossip.com [[http://bossip.com/593985/race-matters-beys-bff-gwyneth-paltrow-ignites-racial-controversy-after-tweeting-nias-in-paris/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_cam paign=Feed%3A+bossiprss+%28Bossip.com%29), said "Gwyneth might be getting a little too comfortable around her black friends …"
On Sunday, Paltrow defended using the word. "Hold up. It's the title of the song! [[https://twitter.com/GwynethPaltrow/status/209415620217937920)" she said in response to a post from blogger B. Scott.
"Single Ladies" producer The Dream came to Paltrow's defense. "WE GIVE THE WORD TO MUCH POWER!" he wrote on his Twitter page. [[https://twitter.com/MrTeriusNash/status/209685908830687235)
As an African American person, I agree that Paltrow's use of the N-word was inappropriate. But I believe I understand why she thought making the reference was okay.
During the U.S. run of Watch The Throne tour, Jay-Z and Kanye closed out the show with the infectious sing-along song. They performed 9 encores in Los Angeles [[http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/hip-hop-media-training/kanye-west-sorry-first-concert-downhill-015917739.html) the night I attended. If you've gone to a hip hop show, you know that crowd participation is mandatory.
Several years ago, I saw Kanye perform "Gold Digger" in concert. Part of the chorus goes, "I'm not saying she's a gold digger, but she ain't messing with no broke n-gga." Before Kanye performed the song, he told the crowd that they had his permission to use the N-word that night. I cringed amongst an audience of mostly non-African Americans.
Based on Paltrow's stage photo, she was likely caught up in the "N-ggas In Paris" moment, especially since the show was taking place in France.
But Paltrow isn't the only person confused about the etiquette for using the N-word. There's one simple rule. If you are not African American there is no instance for using the word that is not going to be taken offensively. If doesn't matter if you're friends with the most prominent African Africans on the planet, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Oprah or President Obama. Don't. Use. The. Word.

[juicefree20]

Jerry

Taking into consideration the situation, as opposed to considering her race, I'm with you here.

First of all, she was onstage at the show. I don't believe that for 3 seconds that there was any disrespect intended by her tweet.

Secondly & most importantly, it's the title of one of their song, a song which from various reports was performed SEVERAL times that night. Jay & Kanye were performing in PARIS & I imagine that they were giving Paris a shoutout by performing that song several times by perfoming it & leaving absolutely no doubt to that crowd that damnit, they were beign rocked by "Niggas In Paris", to quote their song.

And I guarantee you that they specifically performed that song SPECIFICALLY to hype up that crowd & likely led them in a sing-along, with lighters held up in the air & everything. It appears as though the 2 things missing from all whom have been tweeting this as though it's some horrible racist tale are scope & perspective.

Knowing damn good & well how this plays out in a concert setting, as well as how hyped it gets, I see absolutely nothing racist in her tweet & neither would any other fair-minded person do so.

If she's racist for tweeting a line from a song which was sung SEVERAL times from that stage in Paris, then what, if anything does that say about the very African-Americans who recorded & performed that very same song with the very same title, while loving the fact that that crowd was singing along & singing the exact same title of the song?

Does that make the audience members who sang along racist as well?

This "firestorm" is totally ridiculous & anyone tweeting about it without using just a little perspective lowers this to the level of ambulance chasing or looking for ghosts where none exist. This is kinda like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

So let me see if I'm finally getting this through my thick skull...it's not cool to TWEET the title of the song or any commentary in this context & setting, but it's ok for 2 brothers to RAP the lyrics of the song in front of a packed house of mixed ethnicities?

Hmmmm...ok...I believe that I've got it figured it out now.

Perhaps the folks who are mad at her tweet would've been better served had they complained about the fact that this word is still being used by US & placed within a context that allows people to be able to use this epithet in a sing-along song as they do so.

BEFORE HER TWEET!

So, who committed the bigger crime...them for writing, recording, then performing the song, or her for for tweeting while in a hyped & excited state after being up on that stage?

[splanky]

This is a perfect example of where black people playing themselves leads to as many of us have been doing for years
now. The ignorance so infested in hip hop culture these days is one of the reasons I rarely listen to it and it's becoming a circus act worldwide. Gwen like a number of other celebs have long enjoyed watching and listening to
young black entertainers making a fool of themselves and it won't stop here...

[juicefree20]

Hey Splanky,

How the heck are you man?!?!

You know, this is one of those situations which allows others to sit back & say how some of us are always trying to play the race card. I know that a lot of more enlightened people will totally disagree with me, but I'm sorry, there's no race card to play here.

This woman was INVITED onstage to rock with Jay, Kanye, Beyonce & I doubt very seriously that they thought even for a second that she's some sort of bigot.

What her tweet indicates to me & I've been on the scene for a whole lot of events that send you sky-high & hyped, this woman sounds as though she was still flying high from the experience & despite the epithet which is featured PROMINENTLY in the song, she allowed herself to get caught up in the moment. After all, from what's been described, that's the exact song that was being performed while she was on that stage & it should be obvious to anyone absent an agenda or a proclivity to knee-jerk reactions that Glyneth is guilty of nothing more than being caught up in the moment, as well as the blatant hypocrisy of a few folks whom while seeing fault with HER tweeting it, seem to have little problem with the fact that it's the name of a song that 2 brothers sang onstage in front of most likely a very mixed audience.

If anyone's going to climb all over her for tweeting, then what exactly if anything, do they have to say about the song itself & the folks who wrote, recorded & performed it while prompting people to sing-along?

It's hypocritical as hell for anyone, artist or otherwise to suggest that it's ok to sing the word so long as they're singing it at a concert, but that it's wrong to tweet about it later.

This is the kind of hypocritical B.S. which makes it so easy for a lot of people to ignore more serious issues because the hypocrisy of the entire situation stinks & it tends to blunt the more serious complaints that we voice when TRUE issues come into play.

And the fact that WE use the word doesn't make it anymore ok than when others of ANY other ethnicity use it. When I was a kid, it didn't matter whether it was said by a black person, nor a white person. The mere use pf the word directed at any brother was a direct invitation to a punch in the mouth.

Now some folks only get mad if it's said by others.

Talk about regression.

I would imagine that had the song been called "Puppies In Paris", she'd have tweeted that instead.

[Jerry Oz]

This reminds me of the criticism that Mary J. Blige took for singing in a Burger King commercial about chicken fingers. I'm totally at a loss, now. Should I not purchase the product for fear that white folks think that I, an African American, love fried chicken? All they have to do is hang out at Church's, Popeye's, KFC, Kroger, Giant Eagle, MCL Cafes, Ryan's Buffet, etc., etc., etc., on Sunday after church to find out that a lot of colored folks [[and even more whites) DO like fried chicken. So why was she ostracized? I shake my head at how sensitive we are to certain things.