Grace Jones covers the new issue of Paper Magazine. It’s actually a great read, because Jones is like a Tilda Swinton-like figure at this point, more alien than human, otherworldly to the point of confusion and enchantment. Jones is still promoting her memoir and her promotional whirlwind has been hilarious because she doesn’t give a crap about bad-mouthing the current crop of pop stars. You can read the Paper Mag piece here. Some highlights (plus some additional quotes from a radio interview she did this week):
The internet: “[It’s something I unlearned a long time ago… [I have problems] knowing what’s real. I just find that it’s a lot of sh-t to sort [through], and I don’t have time. So I just don’t indulge in it at all.”
She doesn’t know about hashtags or Black Lives Matter: “I’ll have to look it up!” Race is something she attempts to brush aside in conversation in favor of optimistic “universal love” rhetoric, seeing as how “we’re all human beings and that’s it, so I don’t even go there.”
On political correctness: “I think it’s is the worst term ever. I never liked it,” she says, likening it to fascism in the sense that she believes it staunches free speech. “I’m pretty radical about this politically correct bullsh-t, because it’s the complete opposite of freedom.”
On Kanye West: “Kanye has been ripping off stuff from me and Jean-Paul Goude for a long time, so it was no surprise to me. I believe they would’ve done it anyway, and I believe Jean-Paul when he said he’d rather rip himself off than have someone else rip him off.”
Whether Jean-Paul Goude’s work is racist: “The work [Jean-Paul and I] did together, people were calling it racist. It wasn’t racist at all. It was him basically putting me on a pedestal, really,” explaining that no matter what the intention, there would be someone eager to point fingers and deem something “problematic” — even if she can only see the positive intent, staunchly defending his work. “There’s a lot of humor in that picture in that original, (with) the champagne popping off. As an artist, you know, he probably just wanted to have an ass like that.”
On Lady Gaga: “Gaga came to me, and I just could not find a soul. I come from church — maybe that has something to do with it. I like to get to the soul of a person. I just didn’t feel a soul. She might have been freaked out with meeting me. This happened. It’s okay, but then we met three times after, through [Philip] Treacy and, boy, I got so angry.” Angry, Jones explained, because she felt that Gaga was ripping her off when it came to sporting the designer’s work. “I know Philip needed to make some money, but you know what, can you just wait until I finish my tour before you repeat what we are working on?”
[From Us Weekly & Paper Magazine]
If you’re confused by some of the quotes about Kanye and Goude, I’m sorry. There’s some explanatory stuff in there that just seemed excessive. The basic gist is that Kanye specifically referenced a Grace Jones photoshoot (by Goude) several years back, when he used Amber Rose as his muse. It was a mess. So that’s what Grace was referencing. As for her words about Gaga… I can see that. I can especially see it if that went down several years ago, when Gaga was cycling through looks/personalities at a steady clip and there wasn’t much “there” there. As for Grace’s thoughts on political correctness and race… it’s weird that she’s basically saying the same words as Donald Trump, right?
Photos courtesy of Paper Magazine, WENN.
I disagree. Anybody that talks about Gaga talks about how warm she is when they meet her, meaning other celebrities. She adores the icons she looks up to.
I guarantee she met Grace, who she wanted to work with before, and Grace was cold and a bitch to her, so she backed away from then on, not because she’s soulless, but because Grace clearly disliked her. Grace thought she copied her, so I can imagine the vibe she gave off. No soul? That’s a ludicrous statement.
I agree. Anytime I’ve seen Gaga with an icon she has been gracious and adoring. Gaga is also known for treating her fans very well.
This lady seems a little bit up her own ass as well as bitter and jealous. Every time there is an interview with her shes trashing younger stars. So much for aging “gracefully” lol. I do agree with her on the political correctness. It is a type of fascism. The types of things people get outraged over (on the internet mostly lol) are a little ridiculous sometimes. My thoughts are basically no matter what there will always be someone/something that offends you but other people are fine with. Unless you are being physically harmed, harassed, or oppressed by whatever it is move on and associate with like minded people. You cannot expect everyone else to change based on the way you feel the world should function.
Love her.
+1 she’s such a bada$$
+1 even if I do find her a bit confusing sometimes
I don’t think that it is weird that she is using the same words as Donald Trump. Just because a person is of colour does not mean that they are astute when it comes to issues of race. For Jones to think critically about issues of race and representation would mean that she would be turning a harsh lens on herself and the people to whom she serves as “muse” and/or collaborator. I think that much about the way that she was represented was fetishized her appearance as a black woman, and the androgynous look that she was frequently styled in was playing off of stereotypical notions of black women, particularly darker-skinned black women being “masculine” and/or scary…there was also a lot of “tribal” b.s. thrown in there as well which was riffing off of her Caribbean background. I think that Jones wanted to be successful as much as the next person and was not necessarily troubled by the methods that were used to increase her fame.
That’s true, she was always screaming at the camera with wide open eyes and that sort of thing. I’m pretty sure I thought she was a man for like, ten years.
So basically you’re saying anyone who disagrees with the current push towards pic and really on essence suppression of different opinions isn’t enlightened or astute. Nice.
No Teri,
That’s not what I stated but go ahead and interpret my post in that way.
For the record Renee, I think this is a spot on observation about Grace’s views on racism 😉
I think she’s not of this generation. 9/11 changed things. The whole culture moved right and got fearful. When she’s talking about political correctness, it feels like she’s talking about the Old Guard or bowing to social pressure or maybe even 90s anti-corporate sentiments. What Trump is talking about is really any attempt to identify his bigotry for what it is. Trump’s equating tolerance with PCness. Grace feels more like…she’s so tolerant/visionary/something, she doesn’t have time for people’s sensitivities. That can be offensive too. But surely art has that privilege, while public office does not.
I love that expression, “art has its privilege while public office does not”, and I am going to steal it unashamedly. You could parlay that thought to apply to the Kim Davis mess, methinks.
I love Grace’s “i give no f*cks” attitude. As regards to race: I think she’s disconnected with cultural news, but knows historically we have race issues and we are all made alike and need respect.
Regarding her race comment, I do agree that biologically speaking, there is only one race – the human race. And it would be great if we could defer to that standard and uphold that idea.
Unfortunately, long before any of us existed, society decided that not only did race establish boundaries between different groups, but it also automatically made specific people inferior to others. This has caused the suffering of many marginalized groups, even today. So while I believe that the only race is human, it is irresponsible to forgo the rhetoric that has predominated our culture, because it would mean not acknowledging the terrible consequences of living in a racist society for so many people.
That’s basically my 2 cents. I appreciate Grace’s “kumbaya” ideology, but I think it’s a little impractical for our world.
You’re reading too much into her comment. She’s a black woman who’s only dated or married white men. Interracial dating and marriage is frowned on. It’s still taboo for many. I believe it’s more personal for her.
That’s funny that there is “still” taboo. I just recently got into the Book of Enoch (great grandfather of Noah, and seven or eight generations from Adam). I was fascinated and thrilled to learn that Adam was white, and Eve was black. Anyway, I am obsessed with the spiritual world, and the mind boggling way God created everything and how things like that work. Growing up, I couldn’t understand how a climate, or environment, could affect a group of people’s skin color and hair, and no one else could offer me a better explanation. Now I am 50, and just figuring out how the DNA, ‘in the beginning’ created all the colors, etc. Maybe I am just slow… but Enoch is fascinating!
Unpopular Opinion: I completely understand the mentality of why people do it, but regardless, I’m sick of people who say “I don’t see color” or “I’m not a feminist because I believe in human beings” being treated as if they were bigots.
I understand the arguments against those viewpoints, but bashing those who believe in equality as if they were members of actual hate groups is insane to me. They mean well. Bash the people who are actual bigots and hate mongers.
THANK YOU
First Tilda is more Grace at this point.
Happening fab cover.
She’s always seen herself as an artist first, imo. She’s fierce and almost feral… by design. I also think people forget how much she’s played with skin tone and hair in her crafted images & photographs, just as one pioneering example; she is very much aware of a lot of things, and often using that awareness as a tool in an artist’s box.
As a side thought: in view of the recent discussions re the slave t-shirts for the suffragette movie, I wonder if she’d face a different sort of reception today for her iconic Slave to the Rhythm?
i like her way of thinking. We are going to have to unite as a human race and stop all this division. There are too many today with the intent of causing division and chaos and getting well paid for it.
I love her, She is everything, Everything is hers! lol
Seriously if everybody thought like she says she does there would be no race issues so I cannot say anything bad about it.
P.S @BelleDeJour Yesterday I was talking about the whole rebel / slave t-shirt thing and literally said what is next Grace Jones being labelled “problematic” for performing “Slave to the rhythm” lol
Just food for thought…. Grace Jones, I found out, is very spiritual, and believes in a personal relationship with God. That being said, a person can recognize another person by the ‘spirit’ of their soul. I can easily believe that she could not find Lady Gaga’s soul. Sorry, I am not trying to be ugly or mean, and do not wish such a thing on anyone. But it is pretty common knowledge that a person must “sell their soul” to get to her level. It wasn’t almost mandatory to do that in Grace Jones day. But in these days, it is almost a requirement. I totally believe Gaga sold her soul a long time ago. Her Bad Romance video is a pretty good depiction, if one reads between the lines. She was/is totally willing to do that, so she is not a victim in that sense. There is no rule that satan has to wait until a person is dead to start using them. Demons dwell in humans all the time. They were probably laying low around Grace Jone’s presence, because being spiritual entities, they recognize Jesus being invited into someone’s life and soul also. I will probably get alot of hate for this, but I am not saying anything bad at all. If you listen to some artists talk about selling their souls, they absolutely say it is true.
The Goude explanation is incomplete! Amber Rose did pose as Jones in a Goude photo (1), but isn’t she referring to Goude himself shooting KK in the exact pose as one of his other photos (2)?
(1)
http://xonecole.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/amber-rose-grace-jones1.jpg
(2)
http://static.thefrisky.com/uploads/2014/11/13/goude-champagne.jpg