Frank Ocean headlined Friday night's Panorama Music Festival in NYC. While the singer/songwriter is usually very mum and private with his opinions, he took a stand and made a statement against bigotry by wearing a t-shirt designed with the question, "WHY BE RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, OR TRANSPHOBIC WHEN YOU COULD JUST BE QUIET?"
Considering Donald Trump's recent ban of Transgendered people from the military, his past xenophobic comments, and assertation that Mexican rapists migrate to America many are viewing it as not just a shot at 45. However, the shirt can also speak to the overwhelming bigotry coming to light in America overall. The action is similar to Andre 3K wearing a jumpsuit embossed with the statement such as "across cultures, darker people suffer most. why?", during Outkast's 2014 Lollapalooza set. Many artists are speaking out about the struggles to be a marginalized person in America. 21 Savage recently talked about the hardships of being Black, Tyler, The Creator may have come out as gay on his latest album, and Amber Rose has been vocal about the double standards against women.
The shirt can be found at the Green Box Shop in a variety of colors, and the description reads, "This shirt addresses how hate speech will not be tolerated by the 'tolerant left." It's a subtle gesture on Frank's part considering the constant discussion around his sexuality, his use of male pronouns in his music. It isn't his first instance of being socially aware as he sings, "RIP Trayvon, that n***a look just like me," on "Nikes" the opening track on Blonde.
Source: uproxx.com
