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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Jamie Roberts

Kanye West backed by P Diddy as he stands by 'White Lives Matter' t-shirt amid backlash

Kanye West has refused to back down after receiving criticism for wearing a "White Lives Matter" t-shirt.

The rapper, 45, donned the slogan at Paris Fashion Week on Monday and received a backlash from a number of angles, including Jaden Smith who said he walked out of the show.

However, the Donda rapper has reiterated his position on Instagram, sharing a snap of a black long-sleeved shirt with the words printed on the front. He captioned the upload: "Here’s my latest response when people ask me why I made a tee that says white lives matter… THEY DO."

He later shared an article which showed fellow rapper P Diddy publicly supporting him and captioned the image: "GOD IS LOVE."

Kanye posted the garment on social media (Kanye West/Instagram)

Diddy had called the star a "free thinker" and insisted his messages are simply "misconstrued". Speaking to The Breakfast Club on Wednesday, Diddy, 52, said: "My boy is a super, super, super free thinker."

He continued: "And a lot of times, what he means is, like, misconstrued, you know what I’m saying?"

The show's host tried to tell Diddy to "stop making excuses" for the artist now legally known as Ye, but Diddy quickly fired back: "No, no, I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying if he did it, that's the way he thinks."

Kanye West wore a "White Lives Matter" t-shirt at Paris Fashion Week (Candace Williams/Instagram)

However, despite his support and urging people not to try to "cancel" the rapper, Diddy confessed he believed his shirt was "very tone deaf".

He added: "'[Black Lives Matter] was our slogan. That wasn’t our slogan to go share with nobody else… Because right now, we’re the ones that are dying, that are incarcerated, that are left in poverty.

"You have to be unapologetically black and love your people and love your tribe first,' he added.

Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week (AbacaPress / SplashNews.com)

Ye's actions shocked fans after he seemed to give his own response to to the Black Lives Matter movement that was founded in 2013 following the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. The Anti-Defamation League has previously called the phrase "White Lives Matter" a hate slogan.

The Gold Digger singer took to the stage to showcase his Season 9 collection and gave a speech while sporting the top, which was emblazoned with the Pope's face on the front. He also wore a pair of bedazzled flip-flops.

Kanye has since added another Instagram post criticising other fashion statements at the show while lauding the attention his shirt received. He also joked he has created a t-shirt dress too stating the slogan.

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