Image via Complex Original
When a celebrity you adore misses the mark, especially if it comes to politics and matters of social justice, you can’t always just throw the baby out with the bathwater. Instead, they become “problematic faves.” Well, this year was full of our faves swerving into the danger zone.
From Hillary Clinton’s gaffes to Champagne Papi’s low blows, here are all of the public people and institutions we otherwise love that almost put themselves in a basket of deplorables.
Erykah Badu
The conscious community suffered a blow in April when everyone's favorite woke auntie, Erykah Badu, took to Twitter to share her opinion on appropriate attire for school girls. “There was an article ruling that high school girls lower their skirts so male teachers are not distracted. I agreed because I am aware we live in a sex I-driven society...” she tweeted. “If I had a school I would make sure that the uniform skirt length was a nice knee length...It is fair to everyone.” A lot of people agreed with @FatBellyBella but just as many took offense to what they perceived as her promotion of respectability politics and rape culture.
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake was apparently sitting at home watching the 2016 BET Awards back in June and was so moved by actor Jesse Williams’ impassioned speech about Black Lives Matter, police killings and cultural appropriation that he decided to tweet. First, Timberlake posted that he was “inspired,” keeping himself in pretty solid woke bae territory. Then things took a turn when Twitter users began accusing the singer of being guilty of the cultural appropriation Williams described. All up in his feelings, JT replied to one user, “Oh, you sweet soul. The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation.” It wasn’t a full-on “all lives matter” moment but the tone missed the mark enough that he later apologized.
Lil Wayne
We're all rooting for Lil Wayne. At the very least, many agree that he's given us classic music from his time with the Hot Boys to Tha Carter III. All that love, however, didn't stop Wayne from making a fool of himself in a recent Nightline interview in which he explained that racism can't exist because he, a black man, is rich and famous. Let's just blame it on whatever is in his cup and hope he starts making more sense once his label situation is fixed and his mind is clear.
Hillary Clinton
Perhaps the most prominent problematic fave of 2016 was former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Yeah, more than 64 million voters were #WithHer but a good contingent of them was troubled by her history—which includes suggesting young black people were “superpredators,” as she did in a 1996 speech promoting the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act, and the hawkish foreign policy decisions she made during her time at the State Department. Then there was her “all lives matter” mess and the shady, if overblown, email controversy.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie gave many young Americans a revolution they could believe in. He talked about eliminating America's income inequality and took social justice cues from Killer Mike. Unfortunately, he also seemed unable to make his policies make sense for people of color, limiting his approach to class-based critiques rather than recognizing the distinct role that race plays in disenfranchising so many Americans—something that led to his failure to extend his base of support past “Bernie Bros.” Even Sanders eventually copped to his shortcomings, telling the New Yorker’s Margaret Talbot, “I plead guilty — I should have been more sensitive at the beginning of this campaign to talk about this issue.” Who knows, maybe he’d be president if it wasn’t for that ideological blindspot.
Chris Rock
On the heels of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Chris Rock was tapped to host the 88th Academy Awards. In the face of tense circumstances, Rock performed well. He was funny and offered up some biting commentary on Hollywood’s reluctance to diversify. Then, out of nowhere, the comedian—who is otherwise perceptive and aware on matters of race—participated in a skit that cast three East Asian children as “the accountants” who counted the Academy’s votes. “If anyone is upset about that joke, you can tweet about it on your phone, which was also made by these kids,” Rock joked.
Drake
Drake can typically do no wrong. The rapper has even survived some pretty solid evidence from Meek Mill that he doesn't write his own rhymes. He rubbed some hip-hop fans the wrong way, however, in October when he dropped “Two Birds One Stone,” a diss track that took shots at Pusha T and Kid Cudi, who'd checked himself into a rehabilitation facility weeks before the song dropped. Drake was justified in going after Cudi—the moon man did call Drake out via Twitter in September—but the digs at Cudi’s mental health during what seemed like a crisis were more Real Housewives than hip-hop.
Ken Bone
Back in October, in the heat of the presidential race, the American electorate was soothed by the sweet sight of a cuddly, mustachioed man in a red sweater. That man was Ken Bone, an undecided voter who was selected to ask Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump a question during the second presidential debate. His endearing presence made him an instant media darling, but K-Bone’s fall was as fast as his rise. After some days of a pretty intense Ken Bone lovefest, it was revealed that the Illinoisan was something of a creep. Bone participated in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” under his personal account, which, after some sleuthing, was found to contain some super-problematic comments in its user history. How bad were they? He had previously blamed Jennifer Lawrence for having her nudes hacked, once called pregnant women “beautiful human submarines,” and also said that George Zimmerman was “legally justified” in killing Trayvon Martin.
'Saturday Night Live'
SNL typically comes through during election years with witty and sharp comedy that makes the whole ordeal bearable. After Trump won the presidency, the show received pats on the back for a moving cold open that featured cast member Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton playing a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah.” “I’m not giving up, and neither should you,” and emotional McKinnon said directly to the camera after finishing the song. McKinnon had borrowed the quote from Clinton’s concession speech, and the nod would have made the performance a moving commentary on the scary prospect of Trump’s America, if not for one detail: SNL had allowed Trump to host the show during his campaign, providing a platform for the racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic President-elect to endear himself to voters. Their reproach of his campaign victory was too little, too late.
Azealia Banks
When it comes to public perception, it seems Azealia Banks’ music has never been the problem; it has almost always been a matter of her personal behavior. For fans of Banks, it has been a trying few years, and 2016 was no exception. Months before she reportedly got into a physical altercation with actor Russell Crowe, Banks took to Facebook Live to share the troubling revelation that she bleaches her skin and, back in February—months before Kanye did—she shared that she was voting for Donald Trump. Now, the rapper is back and forth the court and gloating over Trump’s win.
The Democratic Party
The Democratic Party is supposed to be the nation’s best hope against a Republican Party led by the likes of Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Reince Priebus. Well, the Dems let the nation down in a big way in 2016, failing to preserve President Obama’s progressive legacy after a relatively successful eight years in office. A major contributor to the Dems’ loss was its internal shit—messy emails, infighting between the middle- and far-left wings, and questionable behavior by party leadership during Bernie Sanders’ insurgency. Dems: The party that can always manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Kanye West
In the Year of our Lord two thousand and sixteen, Yeezus gave us fresh kicks, Teyana Taylor dancing in “Fade,” and “Ultralight Beam,” the gospel-rap mash-up we didn't know we needed. He also let us know that he would have voted for Donald Trump if he had voted in 2016’s monumental presidential election. In addition, he reached major creep levels when he used nude wax figures based on other public figures in his video for “Famous.” Here's hoping after some much-deserved rest and counseling he's full of fewer contradictions in 2017.