Rapper and actor Jaden Smith got up and left during the fashion show by Ye after Ye himself wore a "White Lives Matter" hoodie and featured other shirts with that phrase on it in his YZY show.
You can see a screengrab from the show here:
Kanye West/YouTube
Smith explained his reasoning in a series of tweets after he left.
\u201cI Had To Dip Lol\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664818514
\u201cTrue Leaders Lead\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664818596
\u201cI Don\u2019t Care Who\u2019s It Is If I Don\u2019t Feel The Message I\u2019m Out.\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664820773
\u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664825724
\u201cWe Demand A More Progressive Future\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664834584
\u201cThink For Yourself, Have Your Own Opinion.\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664879691
\u201cFollow Your Own Morals Instead Of People.\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664879793
\u201cHe Does Not Have The Full Support Of The Youth. |||\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664915596
The context for "Who's It Is" goes back a little ways.
Jaden Smith has been a longtime fan of Ye's, previously saying Ye is "a genius" and advocating for Ye "for President."
\u201cKanye Is A Genius.\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1413470241
\u201cKanye For President.\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1440989636
Smith wasn't the only one nonplussed by Ye's choices in his fashion show.
Reactions have been pretty critical of Ye, even as the 45-year-old creative already rejected their critiques even as the show was going on.
He declared:
"I am Ye, and everyone here knows that I am the leader.
"You can’t manage me.”
Still, the reactions came pouring in as is usually the case with actions by Ye.
There were the Ye ride-or-die supporters.
\u201c@jaden ain\u2019t no way you dissing ye\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664818596
\u201c@ComplexStyle Marketing genius \ud83d\udc4f\u201d— Complex Style (@Complex Style) 1664818566
Some of Ye's fans claimed he's just trolling.
\u201c@ComplexStyle Why are people taking this seriously lol he\u2019s obviously trolling\u201d— Complex Style (@Complex Style) 1664818566
But there were several rebuttals about the true impact of this "trolling."
\u201cThis is all that needs to be said in regards to Kanye West and his White Lives Matter shirt.\u201d— _Joesy_ \ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@_Joesy_ \ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1664823456
\u201cSo many folks are trying to excuse Kanye wearing a white lives matter t-shirt as just a troll move or marketing. Maybe it is. But it\u2019s a dangerously dumb message to send for someone with his massive platform. I been off dude. But y\u2019all go ahead labeling his foolishness as genius.\u201d— Jemele Hill (@Jemele Hill) 1664822476
\u201cKanye west making Black models wear \u201c white lives matter\u201d shirts is a culmination of his anti blackness and his immersion in white supremacy ideologies and methods. Disgusting\u201d— \ua9c1\u0f3a\u04c4\u025b\u025b\u0584 \u0236\u0280\u0268\u0262\u0262\u025b\u0280\u0268\u057c\u0262 \u0280\u01df\u0188\u0268\u0586\u0236\u0586 \u028d\u025b\u0262\u0266\u01df\u057c\u0f3b\ua9c2 (@\ua9c1\u0f3a\u04c4\u025b\u025b\u0584 \u0236\u0280\u0268\u0262\u0262\u025b\u0280\u0268\u057c\u0262 \u0280\u01df\u0188\u0268\u0586\u0236\u0586 \u028d\u025b\u0262\u0266\u01df\u057c\u0f3b\ua9c2) 1664820644
\u201cKanye: *supports Trump* \n\nKanye stans: don\u2019t worry guys he\u2019s just trolling hard lmao \n\nKanye: *wears white lives matter shirt*\n\nKanye stans: lmao you guys fell for it, classic Kanye troll move \n\nKanye: *beats someone to death in a Wal Mart*\n\nKanye stans: omg guys he was trolling\u201d— autumn (@autumn) 1664817478
\u201cBoosie takes shots at Kanye \ud83d\ude33\u203c\ufe0f\u201d— RapTV (@RapTV) 1664898667
On the theme of "this isn't the first time Ye has done something like this," one person pulled an old photo of Ye wearing a confederate flag on his jacket.
\u201c@ComplexStyle I mean, is it really surprising?\u201d— Complex Style (@Complex Style) 1664818566
While another remarked even if he's trolling, it's about Ye's need for attention.
\u201c@ComplexStyle If only he didn't have a 20+ year history of constantly needing attention\u201d— Complex Style (@Complex Style) 1664818566
Finally, there were those who agreed with Smith's decision to leave the show.
\u201cJaden smith was at Kanye\u2019s show and dipped when the \u201cwhite lives matter\u201d shirts came out, that\u2019s a true king right there YUP\u201d— Boots (@Boots) 1664828578
\u201c@jaden Yeah bro we all don\u2019t feel the message \ud83d\udc80the whole black community is so confused by this\n\nhttps://t.co/eKhQEiQ1lo\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664820773
\u201c@jaden Thank you for not making an excuse about this. So many people will and have. \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Jaden (@Jaden) 1664820773
This is only the beginning of Ye's new fashion line.
There's certainly going to be more reactions, more than just Jaden Smith, that's for sure.