Alicia Keys’ Husband Defends Her Decision To Go Makeup-Free

It's been nearly 48 hours since Alicia Keys showed up to the VMAs without makeup, and people still have a lot of feelings about it. Now, Keys' husband Swizz Beatz is adding his own voice to the narrative. In a video posted to Instagram, the rapper tried to make sense of people's outrage over Keys' makeup-free face over the past few months. "Somebody sitting home mad because somebody didn't wear makeup on their face...not your face," he says. "You can do whatever you want to do. She didn't tell y'all to wear no makeup. She's just not vibing with the makeup all the way 100%." Beatz is repeating exactly what Keys said herself on Twitter yesterday. He's also reiterating the sentiment I laid out in my own opinion piece. Keys chose not to wear makeup to the VMAs simply because she didn't want to. (She lists her reasons here.) She isn't trying to take a stance against the makeup industry. She isn't saying that women who do wear makeup are somehow inferior to those who don't. Keys didn't sign up to be a crusader in a #nomakeup revolution. She made a personal decision that's entirely her own. Simple as that. Sometimes, a face without makeup is just a face without makeup. There's no need to get riled up or emotional about it — and that's exactly what Beatz and Keys are trying to say. At the end of the day, the thing to take away from this discussion is: Wear what you want, and don't judge others for wearing what they want. Or, to quote Keys: "Do you!"