Overview

Katy Perry "Blackface" Shoe Controversy refers to the public backlash surrounding American pop singer Kay Perry's" Rue Face Slip On Loafers" and "Ora Face Block Heel Sandal" for sale at Dillard's and Walmart. The shoes feature large red lips, blue buldging eyes and a triangle nose on a black base. The outrage was amplified by following the Gucci blackface balaclava controversy days before.

Background

On February 16, 2017, Katy Perry launched her first shoe line in partnership with Global Brands featuring 40 different shoes in a wide range of styles.^[1] In Summer of 2018, Perry released her "Rue Face Slip On Loafers" and "Ora Face Block Heel Sandal." On February 9th, 2019 Twitter users began to take notice of the shoes' resemblance to blackface makeup. Twitter user daniellovesyooh[6] posted a picture of the shoes for sale online with the caption "katyperry are you actually serious right now?! blackface on a SHOE?? what is WRONG with you." The tweet accumulated 479 retweets and 1,600 likes in several days (shown below).

Developments

On February 10th, 2019, Twitter user @ThatGyrlKieren^[8] posted a photo of recent blackface fashion controversies with the caption "Ignorance is Never A fashion statement! Apology NOT accepted😡#blackface #Gucci #gucciblackface #prada #moncler #katyPerry." The tweet gained 796 retweets and 2,139 likes in two days (shown below, left). The next day, Twitter user @TiaHasTime,^[7] tweeted "Regarding Katy Perry’s shoes; if you have to second guess whether a design is blackface/racist…it probably is. “Reaching” or not, information is too readily accessible for this to occur. #DoBetter" which accumulated 129 retweets and 846 likes in a day (shown below, right).

On February 11th, The Pew Research Center^[5] tweeted their research study stating "NEW: 34% of Americans say blackface in a Halloween costume is acceptable at least sometimes" (shown below). The post garnered 177 retweets and 187 likes in a day.

On February 12th, sources close to Perry told TMZ,^[3] "these specific shoes are just part of an entire line of shoes she's designed and released … and they were never intended to be offensive […] In order to be respectful and sensitive the team is in the process of pulling the shoes."

That same day, Insider^[4] received a statement from Perry and Global Brands Group stating,

"that the loafers and heeled sandals were part of a collection that was released last summer in nine different colors: black, blue, gold, graphite, lead, nude, pink, red, silver […] the collection was envisioned as a nod to modern art and surrealism […] I was saddened when it was brought to my attention that it was being compared to painful images reminiscent of blackface. Our intention was never to inflict any pain."

Search Interest

External References