“[Gabriella Karefa-Johnson] is my sister,” Kanye “Ye” West wrote on Instagram on Oct. 4, a day after Ye, 45, attacked the Vogue editor over her saying his “White Lives Matter” fashion show was “hugely irresponsible” and “pure violence.” In Ye’s post on Tuesday, Kim Kardashian‘s ex said that he was not “letting people go to bed thinking I didn’t meet with Gabrielle at 5 pm today for two hours, then we went to dinner at [Ferdi].” From there, Ye claimed that Anna Wintour had Elvis director Baz Luhrmann “film our meeting and we are editing [it] tonight. We took pics and I was instructed to not post them.”
Ye then again referenced his clash with Trevor Noah (which got Ye temporarily banned from Instagram), saying that “it felt like [Gabriella] was being used like Trevor Noah and other black people to speak on my expression. She expressed that her company did not instruct her to speak on my t-shirt expression. We apologized to each other for the way we made each other feel. We actually got along, and have both experienced the fight for acceptance in a world that’s not our own. She disagreed. I disagreed. We disagreed. At least we both love Ferdie(sic) and fashion.”
Gigi Hadid, who fired back at Ye after his first round of attacks on Karefa-Johnson, popped in the comments section to remind West to put some respect on the Vogue editor’s name. Ye first referred to her as “Gabby,” and Gigi, 27, commented, “It’s Gabriella*.”
This latest Ye-shaped drama happened on Monday, Oct. 3, at the rapper/designer’s surprise Parish Fashion Week show. At the show, both Ye and right-wing commentator Candace Owens wore shirts with “White Lives Matter” on the back. The models in the show also bore the slogan, prompting a quick backlash from the fashion world. Ye would later say that “Black Lives Matter was a scam. Now it’s over. You’re welcome.”
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson – the fashion director at Garagas, a contributor to Vogue and a recently-celebrated member of this year’s Business of Fashion BoF500 list – tried to make sense of Ye’s statement after seeing the show in person. On her Instagram Story, Karefa-Johnson suggested that Ye “thought it was Duchampian. It wasn’t. It didn’t land, and it was deeply offensive, violent, and dangerous.”
Ye responded with attacks on her credibility as a fashion writer. “Broke the processor. When the computer can’t read the code. This is a droid,” he wrote. “This is not a fashion person. You speak on Ye, Ima speak on you, ask Trevor Noah.” He also mocked her appearance in a now-deleted post.
“You wish u had a percentage of her intellect,” Gigi wrote in a now-deleted comment on one of Ye’s posts. “You have no idea haha…. If there’s actually a point to any of your s— she might be the only person that could save u. As if the “honor” of being invited to your show should keep someone from giving their opinion ..? Lol. You’re a bully and a joke.”
Karefa-Johnson spoke on the Ye-drama in the early hours of Wednesday morning. “Today literally said ‘Hiiiii-yah’ *roundhouse kick to the face, very Mortal Kombat,” she wrote on her IG Story. “Your girl has been through it! I’m exhausted, but I am so moved by and grateful for the outpouring of love I’ve received (here and elsewhere) over the last 24 hours. I feel so blessed to belong to a community that would show up for me like this.”
“One thing about me: I will always speak my mind, and always try to honor my truth,” she added. “My thoughts are my own, and I stand by them. Thank you all for supporting me in that.”