Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Gwyneth Paltrow Uses The N Word In A Tweet


After Jay-Z performed the song "N****s" 11 times in a row in Paris, the Goopster Tweeted a photo of herself and Jay-Z on stage at the show because The Goopster belongs up there because of her world class newslettering skills. In the Tweet she also wrote "Ni**as" exactly like that. She then proceeded to get a whole bunch of backlash. I think it is the way she worded the Tweet which you can read here. The Goopster says it is the title of the song. It is the title of the song and how else are you supposed to talk about the song without using the title? Media everywhere talked about how Jay-Z performed it 11 times and they all used the song title in their articles so why can't The Goopster. You know I am the first one do call her out on stuff, but she did not say the word, she did not type the word. She typed the name of the song. This is not Paris Hilton who says it in a derogatory way. This is The Goopster trying to be cool and hanging out at the big boy table and wanting everyone else to think its cool. I wonder if she even knows the words. I think because in her Tweet, people don't know the backstory that Jay-Z had just performed it 11 times and where The Goopster is in the photo they assumed she was using the word in a way that would not have been right. That's why 140 characters is not always enough.

77 comments:

Beth said...

I'm more bothered by her presence on stage.

Why did they sing the song 11 times? Seems a bit excessive even if they are in Paris.

Amber said...

The way people are blowing up about this, a) I was led to believe she typed out the word "n****rs", and b) that she burned a crucifix on Jay & Ye's lawns.

If she didn't even fully type out "Ni**as" AS THE SONG TITLE...c'mon man. People just want to hate her for any reason they can possibly grasp. That, or apparently white people aren't allowed to listen to Watch The Throne.

Patty said...

It's the title of the song. How much backlash did Jay receive when he released it? If it's such an awful word, don't use it at all, ever. And if you do, don't call others out for using it.

EmEyeKay said...

Enty, think you've got the story and the song title wrong. Adding "for real" after the song title was what people were angry about.

FSP said...

Cracker please!

Beth said...

Seriously, why did they bring her on stage?

She wants to be like the token white model in a 90's rap video or something.

Amber said...

Beth, she's BFFs with Jay & Bey. They brought her on stage because it was a fun thing to do.

Saffron said...

Proof that Goop should not be on twitter. She's like most other celebs, a dumb narcissist.

Beth said...

I know she's their BFF, but I think it's bizarre that she's at every concert. Does she show up to Coldplay shows very often? No... of course, there are other reasons. I just find it odd that she's become part of their show. I don't think most Jay-Z fans are attending a show in hopes of Gwyneth sightings.

Amber said...

To be fair, I wouldn't go to Coldplay shows either. Have you HEARD them? :P

Agent**It said...

My man Terius handled it best regarding the hullabaloo :

"Stop wasting gods time" "Racism is an Action"

Elizabeth said...

I saw some posts last night about this and people got really heated on both sides. Really heated. Whites were saying the name of the song is a trap waiting to happen and blacks were saying they take ownership of the word to disarm it and whites should only refer to the song as "In Paris" leaving off the first word.

Does anyone think Gwyneth is racist? I don't. She's friends with them and probably thought she was being clever with the word name. She should make a sincere apology and move on.

strawberrygirl said...

Gwyneth is ALWAYS spotted at Coldplay concerts. She just went to the one on Saturday and was at all three Hollywood shows last month. And the Game said it was he who tweeted from her phone.

NapAssasin said...

Yes, because a race Or person Owns a word. Because hip hop culture is so kind to women, so anti-violent and supports stable homes free of drugs. It's no more or less offensive than cunt or fag. Get the fuck over it.

Chris said...

To be clear, she did NOT just tweet the name of the song. She tweeted that pic of Jay and friends on stage in Paris along with the statement "Niggas in Paris for real..."

That's the controversy. Not her merely saying the song name.

MontanaMarriott said...

She's not dumb, she knows exactly what she did and the fact that she is bff's with several people of color does not excuse the use of the word, whether it be the title of the song or in the derogatory manner it is known for.

RenoBlondee said...

She is so unaware. She just has no clue, whatsoever. She is totally harmless and did not mean that in a racist way.

J said...

The photo she tweeted wasn't even of Jay-Z and Kanye, it was two other men, just for context. So she wasn't exactly "just typing the name of the song". Wouldn't expect better from Gwyneth anyway though.

__-__=__ said...

Already out of ideas so now they're copying Patti Smith. How controversial!

crila16 said...

@ Beth...Lol. So true.

Seriously??? This is a story? I'm not a fan of the Goopster, and even I can tell you, she meant no harm. She is an absolute moron, but a harmless one with a good heart.

Agent**It said...

__-__=__ Patti Smith and then Axl Rose about a decade later and now an industry based upon THE WORD :)

crila16 said...

...and no apology necessary from Gwyneth. It was the name of the song. If people don't want to be offended, then whoever wrote it should have named it something else. It's way to controversial of a title.

Veech said...

As much as GOOP annoys me to no end, I have to defend her on this. It's the name of the song, she's friends with the man who wrote/performed the song, she was on stage during the performance. Hell, I'm kinda jealous I'm not best friends with Bey/Jay and was not asked on stage.

Bottom line: there are more important things in this world, more PRESSING issues in this world, that people should be heated about.

Anonymous said...
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selenakyle said...

I play this song all the time on my Rhapsody--it's in several of my playlists and I love it.

If someone asks me what the fucking title of the fucking song is, I will TELL THEM.

Plus Goopy is BFFs with Beyonce for chrissakes. Non-issue.

If "artists" (and I use the word loosely because most of them these days can neither truly sing nor play a musical instrument) don't want anyone repeating the provocative titles of their songs, then name the damn songs differently.

So guess who just got a TON of free publicity for his fucking song?

This is just plain stupid.

xoApril said...

I give her a pass. I believe we get so up in arms and offended over some very minor stuff. If she shouted the word in a derogatory way to someone who is black, jump on her. Let's move on.

Ellen said...

I think this whole story is ridiculous. I think it is going way too far to have some major backlash for sometime tweeting the name of a song.

parissucksliterally said...

She wasn't being racist, she's trying to be hip and edgy.

Failed at it.

Anonymous said...

You know, if black people don't want white people to ever reference the "n word," then perhaps they shouldn't use it in a farkin' SONG TITLE. Normally I'm the first to rag on stupid, spoiled Goopy, but in this instance I'm sure she meant no harm. She's just a dumb white girl who thinks she's super-cool and hip because she's BFFs with a black rapper and his wife. Whatever. I'll just keep rolling my eyes at her.

Amber, I'd rather go to a dozen Coldplay concerts than one Jay-Z concert. But that's probably because I am a tragically unhip old white chick, unlike Gwyneth.

Anonymous said...
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car54 said...

Seriously aren't there enough real racism issues to get wired up about instead of this pretentious white girl using the N word to breed traffic on her twitter? She knew it would bring her attention for being edgy and it's silly.

Amber said...

If the issue is the "for real" on the end, the "for real" obviously is because they are LITERALLY IN PARIS. They performed the song IN PARIS. 11 TIMES. Maybe she was on stage during one of those 11 times and that's when it was taken and that's why it's FOR REAL.

Also, if The Game tweeted it for her, then it's pointless to even be upset with her about it.

If you can find the Iconoclasts with Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou, they actually have a really important discussion about "the word". DC was saying that using it, for him, helps to take the power away from it. MA was saying NO ONE should use it, because it has such a deep/hurtful meaning.

I see both sides.

Amartel said...

This story is designed to drain IQ points.

Anonymous said...
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Sherry said...

I hate that word and it can be removed from our vernacular as soon as possible. Then NO ONE gets offended or hurt. End. Of. Story. Who's with me?

Anonymous said...

Hey Layna, "DO NOT" tell me what to do and not do. You aren't my mom. And even she doesn't tell me what to do anymore.

My point was, if a black person writes a song and uses the n-word in the title, and a white person says the name of the song (in the course a conversation/tweet/posting, whatever, not just to be provocative), I don't see how that could possibly be considered racist. If someone has a problem with Gwyneth using the song's title, they should have said something about the title of the song back when Jay-Z released it, not now. And he deserves their complaints, not her.

Agent**It said...

"And hip hop isn't the only musical genre with race/gender issues.
It's like saying only black people are thugs or welfare queens."

WTF? No,it's not like saying that. Not at all.

crila16 said...

@Texshan...I completely agree with you a 100%. Well said.

yawnathon said...

Ugh. It is The DREAM who is most likely trying to take any negative publicity away from GP, not The Game. The Dream. Smh.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Crila. It's not often that people agree with me here! I'm savoring the moment!

Agent**It said...

@ yawnathon , indeed, my man Terius (The-Dream)

Anonymous said...
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nettalovesrobin said...

I think people r missing the point. People r mad at the fact that she said ni**as but what she said after it. Im not offended by her comment but i do understand that some folks take offense to that word. Some groups have derogatory names that only those within the community can get away with saying. Dont act like if she twitted f*g people in the gay community wouldnt be offended and rightfully so. Just realize that u can say what u want but dont be surprised when people call u on ur shit. As for gwen she is harmless.

Lalaay said...

I agree with everyone that said this is a non-issue. She didn't mean it in a derogatory manner and just like Paris said she probably tried to be edgy and cool and failed Epically! I think more importantly someone needs to hold an intervention for Gwen, why is she always trying to be cool? She tries Way too hard! They need to sit her down!

I think it was the Dream not the Game that tweeted from her phone.

MILDRED PIERCE said...

@Chris 08:13- Exactly!! She knew very well what she meant and how it could be taken. She's a complete and utter prick.

nolachickee said...

I don't see the big deal here. In general, however, she's an assclown in my book.

Anonymous said...

... aaaaaand, the moment is over. It was nice while it lasted.

Layna, rap music uses the n-word all of the time. For reasons completely unfathomable to me, rap music is extremely popular with lots of different races. If the black community doesn't want white people (or brown, or yellow, or red, or purple with green polka dots) to use the word when referencing or singing those songs, they need to work with rappers to express why it is hurtful and try to get them to stop including it. Having a conniption over some stupid white chick tweeting about a song title doesn't serve any purpose.

"But you get to label a whole group of people because you don't like one of their members." -- What group are you talking about? Because I only referenced not liking Gwyneth.

"Most people are complaining about BOTH Jay and Gwyneth. BOTH are them are adults. Why take the heat off Gwyn? She's smart and capable of speaking for herself. Let her defend herself." -- First of all, I disagree with you that Goopy is smart and capable. Second, I don't think she should have to defend herself, because she didn't do anything wrong WRT tweeting the title of the song. She doesn't share "equal blame" in this with Jay-Z. HE is the one who wrote the song; HE is the one who performed it; HE is the one who makes millions off of the song.

Anonymous said...
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El Roy 13 said...

they're all nothing but a bunch of yenta cracka's on that stage.

don't be fooled.

Agent**It said...

@ OMAMA is BROKO - welcome back !!!

Selock said...

I think the "for real" part if more remarkably funny/lame than typing the name of the song. Goop is such a goob!

I hate the N-word, no matter who uses it. I am biracial and quite white-bred so I don't feel I have a right to use it personally in any case. But my rather young child has a bestie (AA, poor background) who used it the other day to describe how her mother used it with her little brother ("n'word-itis" to describe his laziness) and I was horrified. I had to ask her to repeat it like 5 times before I understood what she was saying. I told her so. She had no clue this word had any negative connotation. Maybe not such a bad thing except that usage doesn't sound like reclamation as much as perpetuation, to me. So for all of its toothless uses, it still gets used to demean from the mouths of all races, and I wish it could be left in the dust. Blech.

Captain Midnight said...

First off, this music is god awful and so is The Goopp, but there was no hatred or derogatory meaning in her tweet, so she gets a pass.

Seattle_Strips said...

I agree with Texhawn somewhat, but to me (a white lady who grew up up with awful racist Southern grandparents) there is just something really ugly about that word. The thought of a bunch of people singing it out on stage just gives me the shivers. And for an uber rich white lady to tweet that as if it's all fun and games doesn't sit well with me either.

I guess it is between her and her friends, and apparently the context is fine with them. I won't say that word at all, or even be around people who do, regardless of their race.

Unknown said...

i saw jay z in high school. with mary j, dmx, and... trying to remember who else. idk, powerhouse 97? 98?

but some girl who says shes Beyonce's biggest fan says that Gwyneth is trying to "bee all up on Jay's dick" or something like that, so I questioned that.

I can't wait for the response. Popping popcorn right now. But I'm in the hospital, so I can't really laugh too loud. This is hilarious.

nettalovesrobin said...

I find it funny that some folks like to tell black folks when we can and can not be offended. Some of the folks on this blog show there ignorance everyday.

nettalovesrobin said...

Yeah thats going to work cause the work nigger orginated in hip hop, so if rappers stop saying it we wont hear it no more. Wow didnt know it was so simple.

Bit dams said...

one of my kids got called "cracker" at school yesterday. if she had used a racial term toward a classmate, the wrath of god would have rained down on her. either its okay for everybody, or it isn't.

Umpa Lumpa said...

@nettalovesrobin

Agreed!

The black blog sites are not as forgiving as the posters here.

IMO it was wrong for Jay-z and Kanye give a rap that title. It's degrading, insulting and (I'm black so I can post this LOL) coonish.

and Gwen is a moron for tweeting it.

Anonymous said...

*breathes sigh of relief*

I thought I was losing my mind. No one here seemed to understand what I was trying to say. Trust me, there are a lot of people who are upset about this, and for a lot of reasons.

Mango said...

I despise Paltrow but even I don't think she meant anything by it. She's fucking clueless. And her head is so far up Beyonce's ass it's a wonder she can breathe.

Anotheramy said...

Can you imagine the high you would get standing on that stage with thousands of people looking at you and screaming their approval. It gives me chills just looking at it. I also need a mega ego boost these days so...

chopchop said...

I hate when I take a nap & wake up to find a blown-up thread only to realize half the debate deleted their comments.

DontRainOnMyPrada said...

I don't care what she supposedly meant or didn't mean. She showed extremely bad judgment in.tweeting that word in any context. She should know better.

hikerhead said...

anohter third rail; just like guns. no point. neither side hears the other.

astrogirl said...

Layna I can't get what you were trying to say because you keep deleting your comments.

It makes me think you don't really believe your own words if you can't stand by them....

Anonymous said...

I can stand by my words fine. But having an argument over a blog is a waste of everyone's time, especially when it's obvious that we're not going to agree. I'm in the minority here. Majority rules, yes? I respect that.

astrogirl said...

At the end of the day all that anyone here can offer is their own opinion, if others don't agree with yours it's no big deal. Don't get mad and censor yourself.

poovey-tunt said...

Cosigned.

lucretius said...

the concept of white privilege who has it (gwynnie) and who doesn't it (anybody who isn't white) and placing G's comment within that context really highlights just how out of it she truly is. And please for those who say G&B are Besties, as an excuse for her; that argument is as old as the hills.."I'm not racist, some of my best friends are [insert race other than white here]

Jasmine said...

Lucretius FTW!

Robin the Mad Photographer said...

@paris & @netta have very good points: She was trying to be all hip and edgy (assuming she actually sent this herself; if she didn't, she needs to not lend her phone out again like that), and failed miserably. Most groups of people, esp. ethnic/racial groups, have been known to sling slurs at each other from time to time, sometimes in jest, sometimes seriously, but because they're part of the group to which the slurs refer, it's very different from when someone who's an outsider uses it--think of it in terms of family members getting into it with each other, but then all sticking together when they perceive a real or possible threat from outside. ("Yeah, I can call my sister a ho, but don't YOU dare do it!" And no, I wouldn't call her that, because she isn't one...just wanted to state that for the record.) Example: I've heard Italians cheerfully calling each other "wops," but little UK mongrel me wouldn't dream of doing it, because (a) I'm not Italian, and (b) even if I were, they don't know me from Adam's housecat; you'll take things from your good friends when you know they're just teasing that you wouldn't from a random stranger. It's not my place to say it, or my word to use. It's the same deal with n_____, except even more so, because blacks have the added historical burden of having once been enslaved and sold as property, which makes it an even more offensive word because it has that history. Chris Rock can use it as derogatory shorthand in one of his best-known routines because he is black; comedians of a different race, however, should leave well enough alone.

Goopy may hang out w/Jay & Bey, but she's not a black person, not even an honorary one, and so really shouldn't be using the word, at least not in public. (If Jay, Bey, et al. don't mind hearing it in private, then that's been all of them as friends.)

[tl;dr: She most likely didn't mean anything bad by it, but since she's not black, using that particular term just isn't a good idea, esp. when both white and celebrity privilege are involved.]

(On the other hand, I don't believe in censoring the word in literary works--I'm thinking of Huck Finn here, and the people who want it banned for using the word. We need to remember that the books is set in a different time and place, where it was perfectly acceptable to call people that, and censoring it for the sake of modern sensibilities misses the whole point of the book--Huck comes to know and care about Jim as a human being and a friend, realizes what he's been taught is wrong, and is willing to go against that society's attitudes in order to help his friend out. It's not a question of reliving the past, but of remembering what it was like, and not forgetting, so that we don't let it happen again.)

Robin the Mad Photographer said...

^^ "that's *between* all of them as friends." Grrrr...

Marie said...

I don't think it's my place to say whether she was right or wrong, but I do know that the meaning of words change through use.

While it would be nice to say 'stop using X word' and never hear it again, it obviously doesn't work.

I get that there is a history, but wouldn't making a conscious choice not to be offended by certain words remove their offense eventually? That certainly seems to me more like taking control of the word than what's happening now.

Admittedly though, I don't understand why people would want to insult someone for being different anyways. I didn't sign a form to say I wanted to be a white, female heterosexual - its just how I came out. I figure no one else signed a form either, and if you didn't choose something how can you be judged for it?

Doesn't make sense.

Agent**It said...
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csproat said...

White people crack me up!
Especially the Goopalita.....
She's just tryin ta get some street cred y'alls!

Hahahahaha hahahahaha!

poovey-tunt said...

GP is just tonedeaf, completely tonedeaf. I'm not convinced she's a terrible person, though she certainly could be, but she hasn't got the first clue how the things she does might come across to actual real live people.

Agent**It said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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