Ashton defends deleting Beyoncé reference
OTTAWA — NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton deleted several social media posts Wednesday that included lyrics from a well-known Beyoncé song after her campaign was accused of appropriating black culture.
On Twitter and Facebook, Ashton had posted a graphic playing on the lyric “to the left, to the left,” from the song Irreplaceable. “Like Beyoncé says, to the left,” Ashton wrote. “Time for an unapologetic left turn for the NDP, for social, racial, enviro, and economic justice.”
Activist group Black Lives Matter Vancouver replied to the tweet saying, “appropriating Black culture is not intersectional feminism.” The group asked Ashton to “please delete” the tweet and “address the issue.”
Ashton has described herself as a strong feminist who will fight for justice for minorities, including indigenous people and racialized people. She replied to the Black Lives Matter tweet with thanks, saying, “not our intention to appropriate. We’re committed to a platform of racial justice.” Ashton would appreciate their feedback, she said.
The song, which came out in 2006 on Beyoncé’s B’Day album, is about a breakup with an unfaithful partner. (Beyoncé asks her ex to put their belongings “in a box to the left.”) It was written by African American R&B singer Ne-Yo in collaboration with four male Norwegian songwriters. Two of those Norwegians produced the track, which MTV reported in 2008 was originally intended to be given to a country singer like Shania Twain or Faith Hill.
Amid backlash on Twitter, Ashton doubled down on her decision Wednesday afternoon. “Showing respect is what building a movement is all about,” she wrote. “I will not tolerate racism or hate speech directed at (Black Lives Matter) or any community.”
Ashton, a Manitoba MP who campaigned for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has so far focused her campaign on realigning the NDP with social justice movements. At a campaign launch early last week, she gave a speech to supporters that included a phrase associated with the Black Lives Matter movement: “The system isn’t broken — it was built this way.”
She is one of four MPs vying to lead federal New Democrats. Ashton will debate the other three — Charlie Angus, Guy Caron and Peter Julian — at a second official debate this Sunday in Montreal. A new leader will be chosen in October.