Gucci brand might be on a mission to right its wrongs, but T.I. isn’t willing to forgive and forget so easily. A month after the luxury fashion brand received backlash for selling a sweater that resembled blackface, T.I. was seen on camera scolding a man for rocking the brand’s latest steez.
“Stand up for yourself, brother,” T.I. told the man. “It’s what’s in you, not what’s on you. That sh*t ain’t shit until we put it on! We make that sh*t fly! Look at me, n***a. I’m fly as a motherf**ker and I ain’t got that sh*t on. I look better than you, as a matter of fact.” The video was reportedly filmed outside of a bistro earlier this week.
The man hit back, using the argument that T.I. previously owned Gucci items. “They showed me their disrespect, so guess what? I can’t do it no more,” he said defending himself.
As previously reported, T.I. announced his plans to boycott Gucci in Feb. 2019, after news of the blackface sweater began to circulate. “We ain’t going for this ‘oops my bad I didn’t mean to be racist and disrespectful towards your people’ shit!!! Y’all knew wtf y’all was doing and WE AINT GOING FOR IT,” he said in a lengthy Instagram post at the time.
In addition to publicly apologizing, Gucci has since launched a new initiative. With help from Dapper Dan and other fashion leaders, the brand announced its Changemakers Council implement and invest in programs that promote diversity and support communities of color. The council will include DeRay McKesson, will.i.am, and writer and activist Brittany Packnett. A Changemakers Fund will donate $5 million to underrepresented communities around the U.S.
“It is imperative that we have a seat at the table to say how we should be represented and reimagined,” Dapper Dan said in a statement announcing the initiative. “Through our work together, Gucci is in a position to lead the overall industry toward becoming a better more inclusive one.”
We’ll see if that convinces T.I. to have a change of heart. In the meantime, check out the video of him scolding a man below.