As long as Azealia Banks is online, no one is safe. Banks has made a name for herself as one of the internet’s most vicious posters, often sharing super-reactionary Instagram stories in which she goes after celebrities or individuals who she feels have wronged her in some way—or are just acting foolish. Her latest victim? Australian singer-songwriter and actor Troye Sivan.
While Banks’ online rampages are always intense, it’s fair to say that this particular beef might just be her most offensive one so far. It all started when Sivan mentioned in an interview with Spotify that ‘212’ by the American rapper is his go-to pre-game song. Naturally, Banks took this as a great offence and did what she does best. The artist took to her Instagram stories to shade the ‘One Of Your Girls’ artist.
Trusty pop culture account Popbase made sure to screenshot and re-post Banks’ story on X, an image that currently already has a whopping 2.4 million views. Within her rant, the singer referred to Sivan as an “expired twink,” accused him of holding onto the “weak ass paedophilia x incest aesthetic,” called his music “trash ass,” and referred to him as a “doofy looking young man.”
Oh, and that wasn’t even the worst thing that she said. Quickly though, before we move on, I’d just like to state my quick defence of Sivan. First off, have you heard ‘Rush’? I mean, I literally want that stuff injected into my veins in substitution for caffeine. Also, I think it’s important to recognise the sheer growth Sivan has had since the ‘Youth’ and Blue Neighbourhood era. He is arguably one of the Twink princes.
Anyway, I think what’s most disturbing about Banks’ post is her closing statement: “I bet he’ll pull the grift ‘come out’ as trans next.”
It’s hard to actually verbalise how offensive it is to downplay and speak about the trans experience like this. Nevertheless, Banks coming out with transphobic comments like these is nothing new. In October 2020, the rapper was suspended from X due to a ‘graphic’ transphobic rant against gender affirmation surgery.
Having seen the post on X, netizens immediately rushed to Sivan’s defence. One user commented: “That was so out of line for her to do that, he was just complimenting her work” while another stated, “Girl calm down, he was appreciating your music. The last bit of relevancy you have besides your temper tantrums. You got issues if you really finding a problem out of everything.”
On the bright side, Sivan can now include himself in the already hella long existing list of people (and places) that Banks hates! I wouldn’t mind sitting alongside legends like Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, and the entire nation of Sweden. See, there’s an upside to everything.