Despite the fact that she would never do it herself, India.Arie came out in defense of her friend Chrisette Michele's decision to perform at an inaugural ball for Donald Trump.
In an open letter she posted Wednesday, Arie said, "Social media is a powerful tool, that becomes a weapon, when people start treating each other as little more, than the little blue screen in front of them." She added:
"Do I agree with her performing at the inauguration? NO. I would have NEVER done it. For any price, under any circumstance. but thats ME.
Do I agree with her having the CHOICE? YES
Do I think I understand the nuance that went into her decision? NO!!"
She concluded:
I (don’t have to AGREE with Chrirsette to) Stand up for Chrisette
I stand for Love
I stand for acceptance
I stand for social responsibility
I stand for peace
I stand for you
I stand for me
I stand for US
You can read the entire thing, which is a little long, over here.
Shortly after it was posted, Michele publicly responded to Arie from her Twitter account:
The backlash against Michele has been swift, with the 34-year-old singer writing her own open letter to defend her performance. Earlier this week she also told Billboard that members of her family have disowned her. Additionally, Spike Lee came out and said he will no longer use her song "Black Girl Magic" for his upcoming Netflix series She's Gotta Have It.
Guess it remains to be seen what, if any, impact this most recent open letter will have. But if these tweets about India.Arie are any indication, probably not much:
Guess these accounts didn't care for (or read) that line about social media becoming a weapon. It should be noted that online outrage isn't necessarily an accurate reflection of reality. But it was enough to get a response from Arie:
Just another day on Twitter.
