Lil Nas X and Kehlani are among those who say the ‘Blackout Tuesday’ campaign is not helpful at all. It is a campaign in which millions of people on social media are posting black tiles under the Black Lives Matter Hashtag. However, critics are saying that this campaign is not helping and, in fact, blocking the Black Lives Matter movement.
What is BlackOut Tuesday?
It all began in the music industry, where some very big names decided to cease their operations and to”connect with the community”. However, it caught on to other social media users, who decided to share black tiles on their feed yesterday. This began as a campaign to raise awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement. But, Lil Nas X and Kehlani think otherwise.
As we all know, the movement is at the forefront of news ever since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. It was a way to show solidarity with the black community against police brutality. But, some people consider that the Blackout Tuesday campaign actually damages the Black Lives Matter Movement. And Lil Nas X and Kehlani are also among those critics.
Why are Lil Nas X and Kehlani criticizing the campaign?
Despite strong support from the likes of Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, Drake, and others, Blackout Tuesday is met with criticism. This happened after people realized that the campaign was blocking people’s access to information:
yo edit your hashtags on IG if you’re doing this. make it #BlackOutTuesday and not #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/pWazxzQiPF
— bad kat™️ (@whackkat) June 2, 2020
Many users realized that even though Blackout Tuesday didn’t mean any harm, it still did harm to Black Lives Matter:
It has come to my attention that many allies are using #BlackLivesMatter hashtag w black image on insta. We know that’s it no intent to harm but to be frank, this essentially does harm the message. We use hashtag to keep ppl updated. PLS stop using the hashtag for black images!! pic.twitter.com/eG2fPaybNW
— Kenidra4Humanity ~ KHHL ~ (@KenidraRWoods_) June 2, 2020
Moreover, Lil Nas X also had an issue with it. He said this trend is “not helping” at all and “people need to see what is going on”:
this is not helping us. bro who the hell thought of this?? ppl need to see what’s going on https://t.co/fN492qsxaa
— nope (@LilNasX) June 2, 2020
A fan did challenge him, but he provided the argument against Blackout Tuesday, saying that “information needs to be spread”, and “not silenced for a day”.
it’s information that needs to be spread! the movement needs to be pushed forward! not silenced for a day.
— nope (@LilNasX) June 2, 2020
Lil Nas X further tweeted, “We don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. We need to spread info and be as loud as ever”:
i just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever. i don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. we don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. we need to spread info and be as loud as ever. https://t.co/9nvy3HodjD
— nope (@LilNasX) June 2, 2020
Furthermore, Kehlani also joined in, saying that ‘Blackout Tuesday’ wouldn’t mean a lot. Instead, no releases should come out throughout the week or month. This is because Tuesdays aren’t even a “big deal” in the music industry, as most of the major releases happen on Friday:
fuck no first of all. the major release day is FRIDAYS. tuesdays not a big deal. no releases should come out at all for the week shit maybe for the month. and if they do, these companies need to pledge to giving the Black artists who release ALL THE MONEY MADE FROM IT. fuck it. https://t.co/S6lNSqvO4x
— Kehlani (@Kehlani) June 2, 2020
However, Kehlani did support the original idea of “The Show must be Paused”. She believes that just stopping any production, recordings or releases should be complemented by spreading information on Black Lives Matter:
now, #TheShowMustBePaused innitiative started by two black women Jamila Thomas & Brianna Agyemang dedicated to disrupting the music industry for a day… love that.
seen less of that tag and proper info on that…industry folks need to specifically boost the ORIGINAL info
— Kehlani (@Kehlani) June 2, 2020
This is why Lil Nas X and Kehlani have spoken out against ‘Blackout Tuesday’. They believe that it is not helpful for the cause of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. That is why people were being insisted to use the hashtag Blackout Tuesday, and not Black Lives Matter, as it clogged the feed with black tiles that gave no information. We hope that you took part in this campaign responsibly too.
