Arts & Entertainment
Lil Yachty smacks down homophobic fans over new video

Rapper Lil Yachty slapped back hard at bigoted fans this week after a new video drew homophobic comments on social media.
In his new “Oprah’s Bank Account” clip, which also features Drake and DaBaby, the 22-year-old Lil Yachty appears in a wig and a dress, wearing makeup, jewelry, and heels for his comic portrayal of a female talk show host named Boprah. It’s essentially just another example in a long history of men donning women’s clothes for laughs, something comedians have been doing regularly since… well, since forever.
But in the case of Lil Yachty’s followers on Twitter, apparently tradition is not enough to justify the rapper’s Oprah drag.
One fan tweeted, “I’m convinced lil yachty is gay… why would he dress like Oprah lost me,” while another followed up with the offensive remark, “That n*gga lil yachty a whole fag for what he did.”
Another user attempted to frame their homophobia as an argument in social ethics, saying, “It’s gay and he has a influence over young minds, he’s subjecting them tho that behavior thus normalizing it… that’s not cool.”
Yet another, however, was honest enough to make it all about themselves when they proclaimed, “In my opinion you don’t need to wear no dresses or wings to sell,” adding dramatically, “how I’m suppose to take this.”
Finally, the Georgia-born Lil Yachty jumped into the fray to respond with a scathing reprimand.
“Bitch it’s just supposed to be entertaining… it ain’t even that deep,” the rapper wrote. “Y’all N*gga’s so in denial with y’all masculinity shit like this bother y’all.. relax.”
He also responded to a comment from another man, which read “You are Bi. Dressed up as a damn woman you done let the black community down.” Lil Yachty replied to the (white) commentor with a series of photos calling him out for what might be a bit of hypocrisy.
Lil Yachty demonstrated his support for the LGBTQ+ community in 2017, when he sported a rainbow-colored grill and included a gay couple kissing on the cover of his “Teenage Emotions” album.
“If you have vitiligo or if you’re gay or whatever it is, embrace yourself,” he said at the time, in response to the inevitable round of homophobic backlash. “Love yourself. Be happy, positive.”
You can watch the “offending” video below.
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(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)















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