Image via Getty
Over the weekend, Shawn Carter (a.k.a. Jay Z) broke his silence regarding the accusations of racial profiling at Barneys New York, and the subsequent Change.org petition, which asked the rapper to end his holiday collaboration with the retailer. (It reached nearly 16,000 signatures as of this morning.) In a post on his Life + Times site, Jay Z turns the attention from the retailer to the beneficiary of the collaboration's proceeds. He states
This collaboration lives in a place of giving and is about the Foundation. I am not making a dime from this collection; I do not stand to make millions, as falsely reported. I need to make that fact crystal clear. The Shawn Carter Foundation is the beneficiary and the foundation is receiving 25% of all sales from the collaboration, 10% of all sales generated in the store on November 20th and an additional donation from Barneys. This money is going to help individuals facing socio-economic hardships to help further their education at institutions of higher learning. My idea was born out of creativity and charity… not profit.
He decried being "demonized, denounced and thrown on the cover of a newspaper" for not speaking out immediately, and cites a desire "to get to the bottom of these incidents and at the same time find a solution that doesn't harm all those that stand to benefit from this collaboration."
· A Statement From Shawn "Jay Z" Carter [Life+Times]
· Petition for Jay Z to Drop Barneys Reaches 150+ Signatures [Racked]
· Jay Z Partners With Top Designers for Insane Barneys Collab [Racked]