Iggy Azalea Calls “Becky” Lyric A Negative Stereotype Of White Women

First there was Rachel Roy. Then there was Rita Ora. Now, it seems Iggy Azalea wants in on this Lemonade "Becky" drama. Or, to be more specific, she wants us to know why she doesn't want in on it. While explaining as much, the Australian rapper is wading into some deeper issues about who gets to complain about racist stereotypes and who may want to sit this one out. On Monday, Azalea tweeted to a fan, "@iggys_bitch dont ever call me a becky," starting a heated exchange about the meaning of the name. In Beyoncé's "Sorry," "Becky with the good hair" refers to a woman with whom her husband Jay Z had an affair (we assume). In a larger context, it's a phrase connoting a white woman with straight hair. The name is also sometimes used as slang for oral sex, which may or may not reference a stereotype that white women are more willing to perform it. Over the course of the back-and-forth, Azalea didn't outright say that Becky was a racist term toward white people, but she came pretty close.

This is dangerous territory for anyone to venture into, and perhaps particularly for a white female rapper. Rather than further this tangled discussion about language and history and intersectionality, we'll let one especially articulate fan say it for us: