Kanye West does not care if his Confederate flag merchandise is creating controversy — in fact, he took it one step further on Monday, Nov. 4 by wearing a jacket emblazoned with the mark to a Barney's New York store in Beverly Hills.
During an Oct. 25 concert in Las Vegas, West blasted Barneys on-stage after the embattled retailer faced accusations of racially-profiling black customers in stores. (The controversy became so big that his Watch the Throne collaborator Jay Z, who collaborated with Barneys for a special holiday collection, had to address the partnership in a statement). An incredulous West reacted during his performance of "New Slaves": "Don't touch anything in the store. Excuse me, that's that 'Can I help you sir?' That's that racial profiling out in front of Barneys and sh-t. Talking about, 'Did you steal that?'"
Riling up even more controversy on Monday, West sported a green utility jacket with a bold Confederate flag marked on his right sleeve during an outing to the store.
Kim Kardashian's love got flak over the weekend as observers pointed out that some of his Yeezus official tour merchandise is marked with the Confederate flag. During an interview with Los Angeles' 97.1 AMP Radio on Oct. 28, West defended his use of the controversial symbol.
"The Confederate flag represented slavery in a way. That's my abstract take on what I know about it, right?," he shared. "So I wrote the song 'New Slaves.' So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It's my flag now. Now what you gonna do?"
He later added, "It's colorless also. It's super-hood and super white-boy-approved at the same time." West also divulged during the interview that he had turned to Tyler the Creator for help on his Yeezus tour merchandise. "He's so talented and understands things," said West about his 22-year-old rapper-producer protege.
"The world is controversial," North West's father added. "The world is classist. The world is racist.”
