Chris Evans slams Kanye West for his baffling tweet about the 13th Amendment
Upstream

Chris Evans slams Kanye West for his baffling tweet about the 13th Amendment

West had a larger point, but it became muddled in the execution.

Tinseltown/Shutterstock (Licensed) Remix by Jason Reed

Michelle Jaworski— | Last updated
BTW

Kanye West already had some controversial thoughts about slavery that resulted in plenty of backlash from the internet this year, but new pushback arrived Sunday after he appeared to suggest abolishing the 13th Amendment, which prompted criticism from none other than Captain America himself.

After performing on Saturday Night Live, West posted a photo of himself on a plane wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat—which he’s worn before—and called for the abolishment of the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.

“We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment,” he wrote.

The disconcerting Kanye West 13th Amendment tweet was almost instantly criticized. Chris Evans, in particular, noted how frustrating it is to debate someone “who doesn’t know history, doesn’t read books, and frames their myopia as virtue.”

West later clarified that he simply wanted to get rid of the loophole in the 13th Amendment, which allows an exception for slavery or involuntary servitude “as a punishment for a crime of where the party shall have been duly convicted.”

He’s likely referring to the U.S. prison industrial complex. While the overall incarceration rate is at a 20-year low, it disproportionately affects people of color; it especially affects Black people, who are imprisoned more than five times as much as white people. The U.S.’s mass incarceration and how many say it’s essentially continued slavery since its abolishment is covered in Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated documentary 13th.

DuVernay, for her part, chose not to engage with West’s tweets about the 13th Amendment, both his call to abolish and later amend it.

H/T Cosmopolitan

Michelle Jaworski

Michelle Jaworski

Michelle Jaworski is a staff writer and the resident Game of Thrones expert at the Daily Dot. She covers entertainment, geek culture, and pop culture and has brought her knowledge to conventions like Con of Thrones. She is based in New Jersey.

Recommendations