While other Internet sites were busy complaining about BET Awards performer Beyonce stealing every move of her dramatic robot entrance from pop star Kylie Minogue, gossip site TMZ.com was leaving some readers upset over a fashion quip directed at the “Get Me Bodied” singer.
The site used hooker-related jargon to describe both Beyonce and Eve during their run at Tuesday’s ceremony.
Journalist Jasmyne A. Cannick took particular issue with Beyonce being referred to as “roboho.”
She said, “In its recap of the BET Music Awards held on Tuesday in Los Angeles, popular Internet site TMZ.com described recording artist Beyonce’s choice of outfit as “roboho,” and this was among other things.”
“There are many colorful adjectives that one could use to describe Beyonce’s outfit. So why then did ho have to come into the equation? And the last time I checked, Beyonce was an African-American woman which to me makes the description worse because it seems that these days it’s us Black women who are always being called hos. If the Don Imus’ and TMZ.com’s of the world aren’t calling us hos, then its our brotha Snoop Dogg who believes that he’s justified in doing so because he’s “talking about ho’s that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing sh—, that’s trying to get a n—a for his money.”
“I think at the very least TMZ.com owes Beyonce and America an apology for using such a derogatory slur in their description of her outfit. I don’t care that they didn’t like it but I do care when they use their platform that’s read by millions to describe her as a “roboho.”
“That’s just wrong and inexcusable after the Imus controversy and sends a clear message of how Black women are viewed by the TMZ.com writers.”
