Not Everyone Is Excited For Iggy Azalea To Perform At Pittsburgh Pride
Rapper Iggy Azalea is set to perform at Pittsburgh's Pride next month, but not everyone in town is happy about it.
The Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh, which is sponsoring the June 13 event, is now defending its decision to invite Azalea, who was paid more than Delta has donated to LGBT organizations over the past seven years combined.
Yikes.
Critics also claim Azalea's presence is another example of the white-washing of Pride.
“The Iggy Azalea thing was just a last straw for folks,” says Michael David Battle, founder of the Garden of Peace Project. “Since Delta took [Pride] over, it’s been a white, cis, gay man’s event."
Delta president Gary Van Horn posted a (now deleted) status update in support of Azalea.
The organization posted a statement on Facebook, listing all the positive things it's done for the LGBT community of Western Pennsylvania.
It also defended the choice to invite the "Fancy" singer:
"If we believed that Iggy Azalea was racist or homophobic, we certainly would not have selected her to headline Pittsburgh Pride. We also don't believe she would have agreed to come if she was racist or homophobic.
Iggy is a highly regarded artist and female entertainer and we have received a tremendous amount of positive messages from members of the community and our allies both locally and nationally that are excited that she will be performing at Pittsburgh Pride."
Delta then addressed the intersectionality of civil rights for LGBT people and people of color.
We believe that the push back is part of a larger discussion happening across America as it relates to race and gender.
We believe that same conversation needs to happen here in Pittsburgh and today reached out to several community leaders about facilitating a discussion about race and gender specifically as it relates to the LGBT community.
We look forward to being a part of this conversation in the very near future as we work to make Pittsburgh the most livable city for all."
