00:00Welcome to Essence Now.
00:06We are the only digital live show where black women come first.
00:10And you can watch us every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern on Facebook and Essence.com.
00:15I'm your host, Makon Dovu.
00:16I mean, the one and only electric lady, Janelle Monae.
00:20Do you see the resemblance?
00:21Do you see?
00:22Do you see it?
00:23Do you see it?
00:24I know it.
00:24I know it.
00:25I know you see it.
00:26Remember, you can talk to us at any time using the hashtag Essence Now.
00:29And if you want to come on the show to sound off on topics with us live, you can just email us at Essence Now at Essence.com.
00:36All right.
00:37It's time to get in on some of the week's buzziest topics where we're either going to slay or throw some much needed shade.
00:43Now, joining me in the studio are Essence.com assistant entertainment editor, Sydney Scott, appearing as Bob Ross.
00:50It's very nice.
00:51Comedian and actress, Michelle Bateau, who is dressed for Halloween as Marshmallow Man.
00:56And last but not least, we have black girl magic ballerina Scotty Beam, who also moonlights as a digital producer and personality for New York's Hot 97.
01:05Thank you so much for joining us in these costumes.
01:07I'm going to have so much fun today.
01:09All right.
01:09As I mentioned in the hot list, Kim Kardashian West went all out for Halloween, rocking not one, not two, but three costumes over the weekend.
01:17However, there's one look in particular that got the social media streets accusing Mrs. West of, you guessed it, cultural appropriation.
01:24The criticism came for the costume of Kim dressed up as the late Aaliyah in her try again video.
01:30L.A. girl Cricket Smile tweeted, legend or not, Aaliyah is a black woman and you're not.
01:36It's offensive and you shouldn't push this limit.
01:38But OK, I roll emoji.
01:40Panelists, on the count of three, was Kim K's Aaliyah costume a slayed or shade?
01:45One, two, three.
01:47Let's go.
01:47Hold them.
01:48Hold them up.
01:48Hold them up.
01:49Slayed, slayed, shade.
01:50OK, Bob, let's start with you.
01:51Tell me what you think.
01:52OK, I think she slayed the costume.
01:56I get the concern with her like history of cultural appropriation, but she didn't do blackface or anything like that.
02:02She just kept it simple with the outfit.
02:04OK, Marshmallow Man.
02:05Tell me why you're shading, Aaliyah.
02:07Marshmallow Woman.
02:08Marshmallow Woman.
02:09An independent Marshmallow Woman.
02:11I know that's right.
02:11I mean, like you had said, Mrs. Bob, it's sort of like this history of cultural appropriation where I'm just like, you know, you married a black dude.
02:19You have half black kids, like, can't you be like somebody else?
02:23And I just find it, I don't know why it's so annoying when Kim dresses up as somebody, because she did Mrs. Kennedy.
02:30You remember that?
02:30Yes, I remember.
02:31Yeah.
02:31And I was like.
02:34It's ridiculous, but you're making valid points.
02:36You know what I mean?
02:36I mean, it's annoying, and I just feel like also for Aaliyah, it's too soon.
02:41Right.
02:41I think it's too soon.
02:43Did you have a problem, Marshmallow Woman, with the, some people call it a brown face.
02:48They say that her face was perhaps a little darkened.
02:50Do you have an issue with that?
02:51I mean, in general, she's always that bronze.
02:55Do you know what I mean?
02:55Like, she always has the self-tanning thing and eating lettuce out of a plastic container.
03:01Those are her go-tos.
03:03OK.
03:03Do you know?
03:04But I'm just like, the world is watching you.
03:06Yeah.
03:07Black girl, magic ballerina, waltz on it.
03:09It's too soon.
03:10What do you think?
03:10I think, you know, she's been mimicking black women all her life.
03:14I mean, all her life.
03:15She slayed the outfit.
03:17I love it.
03:18I thought it was a great get-together.
03:21She really got everything from that video, which is dope.
03:24But she's annoying.
03:26Kim Kardashian is annoying.
03:28Anything that she does is annoying.
03:29So we are always annoyed by it, period.
03:32And I think that's the only reach.
03:35I think we just were reaching to complain about something about her.
03:39But the outfit itself was dope.
03:41I like the outfit.
03:42Do you think people are just hating because it's-
03:44Not hating.
03:45Because she's been appropriating forever.
03:47But, I mean, we call her out on everything.
03:50And she's been doing it forever.
03:52And since she's now been with a black man, she's with a black man.
03:55She has black, half-black kids.
03:57She now can tell people when to stop being racist and when to-
04:02Yeah, she does that all the time.
04:04But let this child wear this outfit and shut the hell up.
04:08You know, because she's just going to do what she want to do.
04:11My question is, can she name one Aaliyah song?
04:13No, she will not.
04:14No, she cannot.
04:16Okay, now let's check in with our girl Kayla, a.k.a. Janet Jackson,
04:19to see what folks are saying on social.
04:21Janet girl, what are they saying?
04:23I mean, they're saying that she slayed the costume.
04:25All right, so Oluchi said,
04:27I don't see a problem with it as long as she doesn't do blackface.
04:29Makeba Hatcher says,
04:30This girl can't do anything without it being a problem.
04:32I think she rocked it.
04:34Christine Norman says,
04:34I get all the backsword, but we need to stop with the double standards.
04:38Quit giving $200 anger to 50 Cent Issues, she said.
04:42Bloop!
04:42Tamika Harris says,
04:43Black Twitter, please become critics and lawyers that get paid because y'all doing the most.
04:48She did well in my opinion.
04:49I knew the character without the blackface being added.
04:52And by the way, Courtney dressed up as Michael Jackson, right?
04:56Folks didn't have an issue with that, right?
04:58It's Courtney.
04:58It's Courtney, so Courtney gets a pass.
05:01I don't see the costume, so I don't know if I can pass.
05:03Okay.
05:04I don't see the costume, so I don't know if I can pass.
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