Ice Spice fans are concerned that she was only recruited by Taylor Swift for their “Karma” collab to cover her boyfriend’s alleged racist tracks.
Taylor is currently linked to The 1975 frontman Matt Healy – who made headlines this month for sexist and racist comments he made both online and in the media. On May 5, a few weeks before “Karma” was announced and released, one fan made a thread detailing Healy’s questionable acts as of late – which included calling Ice Spice a “chubby Chinese lady” before going on to mock API accents. To date, the thread has been viewed over one million times on Twitter.
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“In the same month that he did the Hitler salute, Matty also posted a ‘list of Jews’ on his Instagram account, trumanblack,” they wrote. “This made many Jewish people uncomfortable, as it was reminiscent of when the nazis made lists of Jews.”
They continued: “In February of this year, Matty appeared on a podcast where he, his friend & the host laughed as they made racist comments, this included calling @icespicee_ ‘a chubby Chinese lady,’ and mocking API accents. The episode was so offensive + racist that Apple and Spotify removed it.”
Just a few weeks following the allegations, Taylor announced her Ice Spice collaboration, then brought the Bronx rapper out at her New Jersey tour stop to surprise the crowd.
“I’m a massive fan of this brilliant artist and after getting to know her I can confirm: she is THE ONE to watch,” Taylor said when announcing the song. “So delighted to say that Karma Featuring the incredible @icespicee_ will be out TOMORROW night at MIDNIGHT ET.”
Some fans believe this is merely damage control to bury her boyfriend’s prior comments.
“Its kinda sad to me that her fans will keep catching strays for her no matter what she does because between this racism damage control,” one person wrote, “and the fact that she’s releasing ANOTHER deluxe version (removing two originally included songs) to get more $, she clearly dgaf about yall lmao.”
Another said: “Using a black woman as a way to avoid criticism from dating a literal n4zi.”
Someone else added: “Taylor Swift failing to address the racist comments Matt Healy made towards Ice Spice and then finding a way to profit off of her with a new collab is a text book example of white woman feminism. It’s convenient, manipulative and continues to shield and protect white men.”
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According to Chart Data, Ice Spice earned the biggest streaming debut for a female rapper in global Spotify history thanks to the “Karma” remix. The song, which was released on Friday (May 26) as a bonus track on Swift’s new deluxe album Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition), racked up 5.036 million streams on the platform on its first day. That figure propelled “Karma” to No. 5 on the global Spotify chart, making it the top new entry.
It also helped Ice Spice earn the biggest streaming day of her nascent career on Spotify, accounting for almost half of her 10.5 million plays on May 26. The heavyweight collaboration will likely make a big splash when it debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 next month, possibly breaking new ground for Ice Spice.
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Since rising to fame with her viral hit “Munch” last summer, the 23-year-old has cracked the top 10 of the chart twice thanks to her PinkPantheress collaboration “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” (No. 3) and the “Princess Diana” remix with Nicki Minaj (No. 4). However, the No. 1 spot has so far eluded her.
In any case, “Karma” continues to fuel Spice’s rapid ascent to stardom as she recently joined Taylor Swift to perform the song in front of her biggest crowd yet.
The Bronx native hit the stage as a surprise guest during Swift’s Eras Tour stop at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday, with footage showing the curly-haired rapper looking every bit the natural-born star in front of the packed stadium.
