Iggy Azalea: ‘Some straight men are still so scared of gays’
By Josh Haggis
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has spoken out about homophobia in hip-hop.
Azalea, who has recently scored a UK top five hit with Fancy, shared her thoughts on the problems faced by LGBT rappers in an interview with The Advocate.
“Homophobia comes from ignorance and homophobes not being around enough gay people,” the 23-year-old Australian said.
“I think straight men, especially in hip-hop, have this notion that a gay man is going to come and make them gay or try to have sex with them, and I always think that’s so weird. I just want to tell them, ‘Hey, they aren’t interested in you. You’re not that cute’.”
She then added: “I don’t get why some straight men are still so scared of gay people. But I honestly believe it’s like anything else. People just need to be exposed to it long enough for it to not be scary anymore. That’s the case with a lot of rappers. They haven’t been around very many different people, and a lot of them aren’t very well traveled. It’s just a lack of culture.”
Azalea’s debut album The New Classic was released on Monday (April 21) and features the hit singles Work and Change Your Life as well as Fancy.
The rapper announced last week (April 16) that she is to perform a one-off headline show in London this autumn. Azalea will take to the stage at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on September 17 – click here for ticket details.
Check out our track-by-track review of Iggy Azalea’s album
Listen to Iggy Azalea’s collaboration with Rita Ora