Gabriella Karefa-Johnson breaks her silence after being attacked by Kanye West.
The Vogue editor and stylist, who was mocked by the rapper after criticizing the “White Lives Matter” t-shirts he included on his Yeezy show during Paris Fashion Week, took to her Instagram on Tuesday night – Stories to thank those who supported her during the fashion show ordeal.
“Today was literally ‘Hiiii-yah!’ said. *Roundhouse kick to the face, very Mortal Kombat,” wrote Karefa-Johnson.
“Your girl went through it! I’m exhausted but I’m so moved and grateful for the love I’ve received (here and elsewhere) in the last 24 hours. I feel so blessed to be part of a community that shows up like this for me.”
The Style star, 30, continued, “One thing about me: I will always speak my mind and always try to honor my truth. My thoughts are my own and I stand by them. Thank you all for supporting me in this.”
In fact, Karefa-Johnson didn’t shy away from sharing her thoughts on West’s controversial design choices while sitting front row at his runway show on Monday.
The acclaimed editor shared a video of her live reaction to the White Lives Matter shirts on social media, calling it “sheer violence.”
“There’s no excuse, there’s no art here,” she said at the time. “I think if you were to ask Kanye he’d say there’s art and revolution and all the things in that shirt. There is not any.”
Her criticism didn’t sit well with West, who publicly criticized Karefa-Johnson’s style on his Instagram.
“That’s not a fashion person,” West captioned a since-deleted photo of the editor wearing brown boots, a striped knit skirt, a yellow graphic T-shirt and a corduroy trench coat with a light blue Balenciaga purse.
In a separate post, he zoomed in on the boots and wrote, “I KNOOOOOW ANNA HAAAATES THESE BOOTS,” referring to Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.
Though West claimed he and Karefa-Johnson had an hour-long meeting Tuesday night and “actually got along,” the stylist received a spate of body-shaming comments following the rapper’s taunting remarks.
“I’ve been experiencing some serious swings over the past few days but nothing has been as bad as what people have been saying about my body and my looks,” Karefa-Johnson wrote in a separate Instagram post on Wednesday, alongside a photo of her Smile leaving the Balenciaga show.
“The fat phobia JUMPED out. yes i am fat No, I’m not humiliated to show myself to the world as my authentic self,” she continued, adding that she’s “worked hard” to feel secure in her body.
The fashion editor had the support of people around the world — and those close to her — in the wake of West’s social media tirade.
Gigi Hadid slammed the “Donda” rapper – twice – for his treatment of Karefa-Johnson and called West a “bully.”
“You wish you had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha… If anything about you really makes sense, she might be the only person who could save you,” Hadid, 27, commented under West’s original post.
“As if the ‘honor’ of being invited to your show should stop anyone from voicing their opinions…? lol You are a bully and a prankster.”
The next day, Vogue published a statement defending the publisher.
“Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor and longtime collaborator. She was personally attacked and bullied. It’s unacceptable,” the publication said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“Now voices like hers are needed more than ever, and in a private meeting with Ye today, she once again spoke her truth on how she felt best, on her terms.”
Numerous other celebrities have spoken out about the widely condemned t-shirts and West’s defense of his designs – including Sean “Diddy” Combs and West’s former sister-in-law, Khloé Kardashian.
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