Atlanta rapper Tip "T.I." Harris is spearheading a national boycott of high-end fashion brands due to allegations of racism.
The business mogul took to Instagram Friday after Gucci released a black turtleneck featuring racist, blackface iconography.
"As a 7 figure/yr customer & longtime supporter of your brand I must say…Y’all GOT US f—ed UP!!! APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED!!!!" Tip wrote on Instagram Friday. "We ain’t going for this 'oops my bad I didn’t mean to be racist and disrespectful towards your people' s**t!!! Y’all knew wtf y’all was doin and WE AINT GOING FOR IT!!!"
His anger and outrage sparked a movement comprised of other rappers like Soulja Boy and Waka Flocka who are no longer supporting the brand.
"Smh what is this man? —-♂️ no more @gucci headbands for me. Who’s responsible for this? Because it’s not funny! At all!" Soulja Boy wrote on Instagram. His caption was juxtaposed to a photo of a Gucci model wearing the blackface sweater.
Waka Flocka questioned why Black people continue to wear brands like Gucci even though they insist on using racist imagery.
"Invest in Black high fashion designers it’s that f**king easy!!!!! ???????? Being madd now we know how they feel but the question is why we still wearing that s**t ???? and I don’t wanna hear no f**king drip or apologizes!!!!" Waka wrote on Instagram.
It seems the boycott has extended to other brands as well. T.I. and others recalled Prada and Moncler's clothing featuring racist blackface imagery. The Us or Else rapper claims these items were intentionally made to depict Black people in dehumanizing ways. Last December, Prada was criticized for a line of sambo, monkey-like keychains.
All three rappers and business icon Russell Simmons are recommending Black consumers spend their money on Black fashion brands such as AKOO Clothing, Strivers Row and Amir James, to name a few.
As Blavity reported, Gucci apologized for its turtleneck. The item was "immediately removed from our online store and all physical stores," the statement read.
But by all accounts, the brand may be a little too late.
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