Azealia Banks has issued a statement following an offensive Twitter rant that saw her removed from a UK festival line-up.
As reported, Banks fired racial insults at Zayn Malik after she perceived that the former One Direction member had copied her work in his new music video. She also turned on 14 year-old Disney star Skai Jackson when she tweeted about the insults. The tweets have since been deleted.
Banks was subsequently removed from a headline set at London’s Born & Bred Festival. The event takes place next month (June) with organisers saying they “celebrate inclusivity and equality” and would not tolerate Banks’ language.
Overnight Banks issued a statement via Twitter in which she explained why she insulted Malik and added that she believes she was talking to Skai Jackson’s mother, not the teenager herself. She refused to apologise at any point, saying the racists insults she pointed at Malik were a reminder that they are both seen as “other” by the wider music industry.
http://storify.com/nmemagazine/azealia-banks-statement
This incident is the latest in a long line of controversies for Banks. She recently endorsed Donald Trump for US President, describing him as “evil, like America”.
While earlier this year she called Beyoncé a “thief” and said that her album ‘Lemonade’ is bad for black women and feminism.