The Body-Shaming That Drove Iggy Azalea Off Social Media
Iggy Azalea has one less problem after pledging to quit social media Wednesday night. The 24-year-old Australian rapper made the decision after returning home from a Hawaiian vacation to find that paparazzi photographs of her backside in a bikini had circulated online, along with headlines about her cellulite.
"Just got back from a great vacation, came online and saw apparently it's shocking and unheard of to be a woman and have cellulite," she tweeted on Wednesday night, shortly before making the announcement that her management will be taking over her social media accounts.
"I just want to have peace and relaxation time without a perve with long distance lense [sic] hiding out taking pictures, everyone deserves peace," she tweeted.
The Daily Mail published the photos on Monday, labeling them an exclusive, and several other gossip sites followed suit. Radar Online went with the headline "See 10 Red Hot Bikini Photos of Iggy Azalea Stripped Down To A Tiny Bikini—With A Hint of Cellulite." Meanwhile, the folks at TMZ found another reason to criticize Azalea's backside: its size. "It looks like it was inflated more, and now it's deflated," said one TMZ staffer. "It looks like there's some variation between the ass size between when she first came out and now," said another.
Azalea first came on the scene with her 2011 breakout song "Pu$$y," and has since followed up with the booty-shaking anthem, "Bounce." Her collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, "Booty," reached No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, and the video was one reason why 2014 was dubbed Year of the Booty. The last time the world seen a booty this good, it was on Jenny from the block," Banks sings.
Even still, the media's fixation with Azalea's butt began long before "Booty" became a hit. Radio show host Sway turned an interview about her career and her oft-debated freestyling abilities into a survey of her body when he asked, "Everything is real? The butt, too, right? Because there was a rumor that it wasn't a real butt."
"I've heard I've had implants, I've heard all kinds of crazy stuff," Azalea replied during the 2013 appearance on Sway in the Morning. "It's my flesh. It's my butt." Sway ended the interview by interpreting Azalea's awkward laughter as
Azalea has always been vocal about her representation in the media, including accusing online magazines of trash-talking her as a means of click-bait. After her make-up free airport arrival made headlines for the umpteenth time, Azalea fought back. "I just want to take the time to say if you're a woman or even a blog trying to make me feel bad for pictures of myself with no makeup F you!" she tweeted on May 6, 2014.
The singer's days of tweeting appear to be over, but as long as she continues to be harassed by paparazzi, her battle with the media likely won't end anytime soon.
The last tweet from her account reads: "The Internet is the ugliest reflection of man kind there is."
Original article from TakePart
