SALON

Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 9:40 PM UTC

An open letter to Kanye West about his abortion tweet

The hip-hop star's message isn't pro-life or pro-choice. It's just dumb

By

Topics: Kanye West, Abortion, Twitter, Television,

An open letter to Kanye West about his abortion tweetHe ain't saying she's a gold digger...

Dear Kanye,

I know you are very busy with “All the Lights,” I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you finish, but Justin Bieber had one of the best uninformed abortion sound bites of all time. For someone who is known for his funny and irreverent tweets (they’ve been turned into New Yorker cartoons and “30 Rock” catechisms!), your tweet about gold diggers getting pregnant on purpose so they can scam money for abortions is the biggest misstep in your career.

Yesterday, Kanye sent out this message to his 2,518,037 followers:

He followed it up with a non-redemptive clarification:

“It ain’t happen to me but I know people.”

In a way, your message is egalitarian, in the sense that both pro-life and pro-choice advocates should be horrified by the disgusting misogyny in such a statement. We’re not debating that there are definitely some sad women out there who try to get knocked up with a celebrity’s baby, but doing it so they can then have an abortion? Also, your facts are wrong. Last time we checked, terminating a third-trimester pregnancy will cost $400-$2,000 not $50K-100K. And guess what? An abortion isn’t like an alimony payment: It’s an emotional and physical experience that you will never, ever have to experience. Not to get all Keith Olbermann on you, Kanye, but how dare you make such a flippant statement about your “ballin” millionaire friends and the oh-so-tragic experience of them having to pay for an abortion? Was it a traumatic experience, Kanye? Did this 1 percent of millionaires to whom you’re referring need a PSA?

Unlike Odd Future and their controversial lyrics, what you said about gold diggers doesn’t fall under the guise of artistic license. You can’t just say, “I was making a statement about the messed up society we lived in.” You were expressing your own thoughts on Twitter, and in doing so, disrespected a painful experience of womanhood more than any “Rape kill kill” lyrics ever could. 

Drew Grant

Drew Grant is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @videodrew. More Drew Grant.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 22 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Video of the Day

Watch More Here »

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations