Angry fans petition for Kylie Jenner’s removal from Cardi B “WAP” video

[jwplayer Y7PB7YwV]Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” music video has accumulated over 38 million views in just two days, but a 23-second cameo by Kylie Jenner has sent fans into an absolute uproar.

While Twitter was by no means thrilled with Kylie’s inclusion in the “WAP” video, that annoyance has turned surprisingly quasi-litigious as a new Change.org petition calls explicitly for the world’s most prominent influencer to be removed from the video entirely. And it has over 53,000 votes, with many more pouring in by the minute.

The video, which features six cameos including Kylie, is already breaking music industry records as the biggest debut for a female collaboration in YouTube history. And the song is breaking records too, as “WAP” hit 2,340,504 streams in its first day, reaching No. 1 on the US Spotify chart, giving Cardi and Megan their first chart-topper on the platform and breaking the record for most single-day streams by a female rapper in history. 

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And Kylie is not the only notable cameo. Cardi, Megan, and Kylie were joined by Normani, Mulatto, Sukihana, Rosalia, and Rubi Rose for the hit.

While the petition simply explains that “the video was perfect until we saw K and I wanted to throw my phone,” the rationale behind Kylie’s presence being problematic is nuanced. Principally, many fans believe her cameo distracts from the video’s celebration of Black women and deflects from her history with cultural appropriation. 

Others have been quick to note that those factors should not prevent Cardi and Megan from profiting off of her popularity. Kylie has 189 million followers on Instagram, among the highest in the world and an audience to which she (and her family) directly exposed the video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDmavyAnBZ3/

While thousands of fans may be bothered by her inclusion, Cardi is not. The superstar took to Twitter to thank the women who were a part of her and Megan’s historic, record-breaking video for taking the time to help her represent female power across races and backgrounds.

As Cardi explains, she found it important “to include different women, that are different races and come from different backgrounds but are so powerful and influential.”

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While the petition’s signatures continue to mount, nobody involved in the now-controversial video seem bothered. And that’s understandable, all that extra attention does is bring more clicks, exposure, and a chance to break even more records.