Monday, December 19, 2011
Dutch Magazine
calls singer Rihanna
"The Ultimate Niggabitch"
From Madnews
In an article published in the latest issue of Dutch fashion magazine Jackie, the magazine offers a little advice on how to dress like Rihanna without looking like the “ultimate niggerbitch.” That’s right. No typo there. Check out the full English translation below:“She has street cred, she has a ghetto ass and she has a golden throat. Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate niggabitch and displays that gladly, and for her that means: what’s on can come off. If that means she’ll be on stage half naked, then so be it. But Dutch winters aren’t like Jamaican ones, so pick a clothing style in which your daughter can resist minus ten. No to the big sunglasses and the pornheels, and yes to the tiger print, pink shizzle and everything that glitters. Now let’s hope she won’t beat anybody up at daycare.”
Two hours ago, Jackie Editor in Chief Eva Hoeke posted the below apology on the magazine’s Facebook page:
Dear readers,
First: thanks for all your responses. We are of course very fed up over this and especially very shocked. However I’m glad that we’re engaging in a dialogue on this page — not everybody does that. Thanks for this. Other than that I can be brief about this: this should have never happened. Period. While the author meant no harm — the title of the article was intended as a joke — it was a bad joke, to say the least. And that slipped through my, the editor-in-chief’s, fingers. Stupid, painful and sucks for all concerned. The author has been addressed on it, and now I can only ensure that these terms will no longer end up in the magazine. Furthermore I hope that you all believe there was absolutely no racist motive behind the choice of words. It was stupid, it was naive to think that this was an acceptable form of slang — you hear it all the time on tv and radio, then your idea of what is normal apparently shifts — but it was especially misguided: there was no malice behind it. We make our magazine with love, energy and enthusiasm, and it can sometimes happen that someone is out of line. And then you can only do one thing: apologize. And hope that others wish to accept it.From the bottom of my heart I say it again: we never intended to offend anyone. And I mean that.
Regards,
Eva Hoeke
So, as editor in chief, Hoeke had no idea that this was offensive before running it and actually considered it a joke? In addition to being blatantly racist, calling Rihanna Jamaican (she’s from Barbados) and actually suggesting that mothers should dress their daughters like her, this article is just wrong from every angle.According to our source in Holland, Jackie is a well known local fashion publication with a circulation of 57,700 copies per month. (Source Parlour website)
I don't think the Editor in Chief Eva Hoeke is really sorry about publishing the story. Being offensive is the Dutch norm these days, so this story was a perfect fit.
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Editor in Chief Jacky resigns
after Rihanna n*gg*b*tch
controversy
According to the Dutch magazine Elsevier Eva Hoeke has decided to resign as Chief Editor of the Dutch magazine Jacky after the controversy surrounding the singer Rihanna. In the magazine Rihanna is referred to as a "niggabitch", a statement which infuriated the singer.
Today Rihanna lashed out to magazine Jacky who described her as a n*gg*b*tch. To Editor in Chief Eva Hoeke she tweeted "@evajackie I hope u can read english, because your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!! You ran out of legit, civilized information to print! There are 1000's of Dutch girls who would love to be recognized for their contributions to your country, you could have given them an article. Instead, u paid to print one degrading an entire race! That's your contribution to this world! To encourage segregation, to mislead the future leaders to act in the past! You put two words together,@evajackie with the intent of abasement, that made no sense..."NIGGA BITCH"?!....Well with all respect, on behalf of my race, here are my two words for you...FUCK YOU!!!Apparently magazine Jacky realised they had gone one step to far. Today Eva Hoeke wrote on twitter they would rectify the story in the next edition. The first to respond to the story was Dutch black Televion hostZarayda Groenhart. According to the newspaper she was furious.
Chief Editor of Jacky first responded on twitter with: "I think it's more than obvious that it's a joke. Anyone who doesn't see this is extremely sensitive to the topic." Afterwards Eva Hoeke gained some new insights. For her boss that apparently was not enough.
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Sometimes a joke … is not a joke. Sadly, Eva Hoeke (at left), Editor-In-Chief of Dutch magazine Jackielearned this the hard way in the past 36 hours when she issued the most non-apology-apology for her publication’s decision to refer to Rihanna as a “niggabitch” in their latest issue. After we reported the rundown, Rihanna issued her own response directly to Eva via Twitter that ended with “Fuck You.” Well, it seems that Eva has had it up to here with the mess that her own niggabitchness has created, so she’s decided to quit her job as editor. We got our hands on the press release, here is a translation: Read the rest
Eva Hoeke Quits as Editor-in-Chief of Jackie
Following a recent publication in Jackie magazine, issue 49, a worldwide outcry arose over an article on page 45 entitled “De Niggabitch”, which refers to Rihanna and her style of dress. This word is used in America as slang.
Throughout the various social media there has been an emotional response to this choice of words, as published in Jackie. As a first reaction to this editor-in-chief Eva Hoeke said via Twitter that the choice of words was meant as a joke and offered an apology to anyone who felt offended. This reaction cause further consternation, as Hoeke herself also referred to the term elsewhere in the magazine. In a second reaction through Twitter, Hoeke came to the following conclusion: ‘1. Don’t publish bad jokes in the magazine 2. Don’t pretend as if a bad joke is good. Sorry guys. My bad.’ The response on social media now took on an international character. In a third reaction Hoeke even offered to rectify in the next issue of Jackie. This morning Rihanna response on the article through Twitter. She was furious over the use of the word ‘niggabitch’ and ended her message with ‘Fuck you Eva’. Through social media Hoeke was taunted and threatened in various ways.
Following these events she consulted with publisher Yves Gijrath of GMG. Together they came to the following joint conclusion: In the interest of Jackie Magazine and all involved she will leave her function as editor-in-chief effective immediately. Hoeke gives the following comment:
“I realize that my first reaction through Twitter, in which I indicated that it was a joke, has been an incomplete description of what me, and also the author of the article, meant. The term ‘niggabitch’ came from America and we solely used it to describe a style of dress. Because of the enormous pressure through social media I was tempted to promise amendment regarding the language in future issues of Jackie. Apart from that I also offered an rectification. I have now come to the conclusion that rectification is not the right solution. I regret that I have taken a stand too quickly regarding an article in Jackie — which moreover had no racial motive at its basis. Through the course of events, me and the publisher have concluded that because my credibility is now affected, it is better for all parties if I quit my function as editor-in-chief effective immediately. After putting my heart and soul into for Jackie for eight years, I realize that these errors — although not intented maliciously — are enough reason for leaving.”
Publisher Yves Gijrath regrets the state of affairs and praises Hoeke’s attitude, who primarily chooses for the credibility of the title, which – as she realizes herself – would have been damaged had she stayed. According to Gijrath there’s no doubt about the intentions and qualities of Eva Hoeke, however he does think this joint decision is the correct one. Hoeke concludes:
“I should have counted to ten before taking unnuanced stands through social media channels. Through this my credibility has been hurt and that neither fits the role of an editor-in-chief, nor Jackie Magazine. Jackie Magazine will invite Rihanna to share her feelings and thoughts on the article in the next issue.”
Well there it is folks. Offensive article runs. Editor in Chief offers a half-apology. Artist responds. Editor in Chief quits. I wonder if the response that this ignited globally will make a difference in how issues like this are handled in the future or if Hoeke’s resignation is simply a temporary solution to a deep-rooted problem.
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Rihanna Responds to Racist Incidents,
Is She Justified in Her Reactions?
(UPDATED)
Those of you who follow Rihanna on Twitter know that she does not take any foolishness and is very quick to let folks know how she feels about being slighted or insulted and does not mince words in doing so. The singer endured two racist incidents this week and used Twitter as a platform to make her reaction clear.
First, Rihanna shared a racist incident that occurred in a hotel in Portugal:
“I just met the most racist c**t EVER!!! This man said the craziest sh*t abt black women called us dogs, sluts, we don’t look like sh*t, we don’t belong in the same hotels….needless to say, the #N***A in me came out! Bajan accent and all! Lol! Turns out the hotel manager’s black. Oh and he had the NERVE to diss black people in his Tighty whitey’s!!!! SMH…and tbh (to be honest) a lil black wouldn’t hurt him.”
Wow.
What followed for Rihanna in Europe was more racial unpleasantness. The tweet below was sent directly to Eva Hoeke, editor in chief of the Dutch magazine Jackie that referred to her as “niggabitch”among other things:
@evajackie I hope u can read english, because your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!! You ran out of legit, civilized information to print! There are 1000′s of Dutch girls who would love to be recognized for their contributions to your country, you could have given them an article. Instead, u paid to print one degrading an entire race! That’s your contribution to this world! To encourage segregation, to mislead the future leaders to act in the past! You put two words together, with the intent of abasement, that made no sense…”N***A B***H”?!….Well with all respect, on behalf of my race, here are my two words for you…F**K YOU!!!”
Well that handles that, I guess. Hoeke could only reiterate her apologies through the magazine’s Facebook page, claim that the words were meant as a joke, and the other excuses one would expect in this scenario.
One has to wonder what Rihanna’s European reception means in a social and political context, and furthermore if her vulgar reaction is the right way to respond.
What do you think about Rihanna’s responses?
UPDATE: Eva Hoeke has stepped down from her position as Editor In Chief of Jackie, citing the uproar over her ill-fated piece as the reason. Her departing statement reads as follows:
“Because of the enormous pressure from social media, I can promise improvement in terms of language used in future issues of Jackie. Previously, I offered rectification. As I now come to the conclusion that rectification is not the right solution, I am departing. The term ‘nigga bitch” has come over from America and we have only this to describe this particular style of clothes that we can try to interpret. After eight years, with my heart and soul, I have worked for Jackie. I realize that these errors – although no malicious intent – is a reason to leave.”
So now “nigga bitch” is a style of clothes whose term is American? Interesting…
What do you think of her reasoning, Clutchettes?