Virgil Abloh Pens Lengthy Apology Over Looting Comments & Donations

BYAron A.4.4K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Brian Ach/Getty Images
Virgil Abloh sets the record straight after facing heat for his $50 donation and comments about streetwear.

Virgil Abloh's been under fire in the past 24 hours for his comments regarding the recent protests across the country, especially when it came to his "streetwear is dead" comments. Abloh's comments came across as slighting the racial injustices that people are fighting for across the country over brick-and-mortar stores that can be replaced. 

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

"Yesterday, I spoke about how my stores and stores of my friends were looted. I apologize that it seemed like my concern for those stores outweighed my concern for our right to protest injustice and express our anger and rage in this moment," he said.

"Buildings are brick and mortar and material things can be replaced, people can't. Black lives matter. In this moment, those other things don't," he wrote. "People who criticize 'looting' often do also as way to make it seem like our fight against injustice isn't legitimate. I did not realize the ways my comments accidentally contributed to that narrative. As mentioned yesterday, if looting eases pains nd further the overall mission, it is within good standing with me."

Immediately after, he explained the $50 donation that he's been hounded over. He explained that it wasn't the only donation that he made and apologized that it came across that way. "I can understand your frustration if you think my contributions were limited to $50. purely false when it comes to the total. I have donated $20,500 to bail funds and other causes related to this movement."

Read his entire apology below. 

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
...