Why Kanye’s “30 Showers” Remark to Amber Rose Was a Disservice to Black Women

Were you guys just as shocked as I was when Kanye West stated he had to “take 30 showers before getting with Kim Kardashian post his split with Amber Rose, during his Power 105.1 The Breakfast Club interview last month?

If the answer is ‘yes,’ then we’re on the same page.

Some of you may even be thinking, ‘how dare he make the statement considering the woman he’s now married to.’ And, well, you’d be correct again.

I’ve often refrained from pulling the race card or making a debate racial, mainly because I don’t believe every “racial issue” presented by the media is racially driven. Giuliana Rancic’s distasteful comments about Zendaya Coleman’s faux locks worn at this year’s Oscars is a perfect example of that. A very ignorant statement indeed, but, I do not believe Giuliana was fully aware of how the comment could have been misconstrued nor deemed offensive to the Black community—especially Black women or anyone with dreads for that matter. Again, I blame that on her ignorance. Let’s be honest, the late Joan Rivers made much more offensive statements while critiquing celebrity style on the Fashion Police. Unfortunately for Giuliana, however, unlike Rivers she is not a comedienne and didn’t get a pass. But, that’s another topic all together—back to Kanye.

To be clear, I also don’t believe Kanye’s statements were meant to be about race, but rather, a man defending his wife—even if that meant disrespecting another woman.

But here’s why Kanye’s statements were a disservice to Black women.

Kanye’s interview was actually pretty impressive in comparison to past interviews where he often went off in tangents when answering questions. His controversial statements minimize some great points about the division of class, race, injustice, his deal and recent collaboration with Adidas, his love for music, making a new album, and no longer wanting to be the “angry Black man.”

During the interview he was articulate, poised, and at times, seemed humble – until he made a jab at ex-girlfriend Amber Rose that is.

Rose had previously sat down with the radio station for her own interview a week prior to Kanye’s interview. When asked about her thoughts on Tyga, 25, dating Kylie Jenner, who is only 17 and Kanye’s now sister-in-law, she criticized the rapper for leaving his ex-fiancée Blac Chyna (Amber’s BFF) to date the teenager. During Amber’s critique, however, she threw a jab at the 17 year old insisting she should be in bed by 7pm. Needless to say, the comment sparked a Twitter war between Rose and Jenner’s big sis, Khloe Kardashian, who reminded Amber that as a teen she also depicted some inappropriate behavior by becoming a stripper at just 15 years old.

During the online feud, Rose threw some more jabs of her own by reminding Khloe that anything she did was simply to help provide for her family — much like Khloe’s older sister, Kim K, thanks to her leaked sex-tape with then boyfriend Ray J in 2003. Amber’s disdain for Kim also stems from the accusation that while she and Kanye dated, Kim disrespected their relationship by sending the rapper nude images of herself– something the rapper denies.

When asked about the feud and Amber’s comments, Kanye, now married to Kim, perhaps felt inclined to defend his wife. The issue, however, is that he glorified Kim for much of the same antics he bashed Amber for. Both women have used their looks and sex appeal to get ahead, wouldn’t you agree?

Their careers have also benefited as a result of the famous men they’ve dated. The difference? While Kim Kardashian comes from an affluent background with unlimited resources, Amber’s the “hood chick.”

Kim is poised and is very aware of how to capitalize off of her looks; it’s what has opened so many doors for her and her family in the television, fashion and beauty industries. She’s certainly built an empire.

Amber, on the other hand, comes from a single-parent household; her mother struggled financially while her dad was an absentee parent. To help her mother, although not the road many of us would travel, she began to strip at age 15.

Although Kim did not strip at a local club, the release of her homemade sex-tape helped her to land a reality show deal and opened the doors for a lucrative brand thereafter. It’s one of the reasons it’s shocking to see Amber being degraded for the same reason Kim is glorified.

By making the statement, “I needed to take 30 showers before I got with Kim,” after splitting with Rose in 2010, Kanye perpetuated the stereotype that a Black woman cannot be placed on the same pedestal as their white counterparts–unintentional, perhaps, but expressive of what may deem true.

While Rose is of a mixed background, her father being both Irish and Italian and her mother a Cape Verde native with Scottish roots, Rose has widely been accepted as a Black woman with urban appeal. Kim, on the other hand, is from a Scottish-Dutch and Armenian background, and is widely accepted as Caucasian with voluptuous assets.

Ironically, in the same interview, Kanye explained why he has no issues with his wife continuing to flaunt her assets–even going as far as posing totally nude in her Paper magazine issue in an attempt to “break the internet.”

West’s point was that Kim’s physique should be celebrated. Her look, her appeal should, essentially, become the norm–changing the face of what beauty represents. Not the skinny, Caucasian blond models we often see gracing the covers of high-end fashion magazines, film and runways. But what about Amber? Shouldn’t her voluptuous assets be considered the norm too?

West’s comments just go to prove that the standard of beauty, especially for a Black woman, is still under-represented. A voluptuous woman of color can’t get away with being totally nude without being called whore, trashy, nasty, dirty, a THOT, insecure, raunchy and the like. This is even truer for a Black woman with a darker complexion and more ethnic features–she is deemed less attractive.

Kim has been called many of these names as well, for sure. But please name one Black woman who has been able to build a lucrative fashion and beauty brand solely based on her ethnic and voluptuous assets. I’ll wait.

Watch and listen to West’s full Power 105.1 interview below.

Amber also recently sat down with Entertainment Tonight to share her thoughts on West’s comments and her feud with Khloe as well as plans to orchestrate a Slut Walk (a movement for women to be sexy and wear whatever they’d like without fear of being harassed and sexually assaulted).

“We were happy when we were together, and now all of a sudden I’m getting slut shamed because we’re not together anymore, and it’s unfair,” she continued. “I feel like women deal with that constantly on a daily basis, and I’m sick of it. I’m here for my girls. We’re going to do the Amber Rose Slut Walk this summer, and it’s going to be awesome. I’m going to do it in L.A. this year, and hopefully New York, Chicago, Miami.”

Watch Amber’s full ET interview below.

Written By: Antoinette “Ms. Toni” Warren – @i_am_mstoni
Editor: Shana Hitt – @INeedBooks2Live