Why can't y'all let Amber Rose be great?
Hip-hop's wifey du jour will not go quietly into that good night
Amber Rose gets a bad rap. And I’m not just saying that because her photo serves as my iPhone wallpaper. But seriously. Is it really her fault that Kanye West chose to fall in love with a stripper from Philly and upgrade her to international arm candy du jour? When that level of fame falls in your lap, what other choice do you have but to whore it out? #NoPunIntended. Like she was really supposed to descend into ex-stripper hell after their breakup and throw two years of paparazi exposure down the drain?
Au contraire mon frère. Hence Rose’s ongoing media onslaught. Despite VH1’s decision to put the red light on her reality show (perhaps she wasn’t willing to get emotionally naked enough for their liking?), she’s still busy hawking Smirnoff Vodka (two new flavors, Whipped Cream and Fluffed Marshmallow), co-judging season two of the Smirnoff-sponsored “Master of the Mix” DJ competition on BET, working on a burgeoning straight-to-DVD film career, and, of course, her debut pop album. Hell, why not?
We recently spoke for 15 minutes (I know, right) on the phone about all of her promotional goings-on, her current relationship with rapper Wiz Khalifa, and how she weighs her sense of self-worth against the influx of celebrity worship/hate. But what I really wanted to know was how she manages being Amber Rose the commodity.
From the outside looking in, being Amber Rose seems like it’s filled with all kinds of ironies. Like this summer when those nude photos [NSFW] of you leaked, I remember you being upset and talking about how it caused you to lose a lucrative deal, but at the same time I’m sure it also increased your popularity, which adds to your value as a celebrity. Do you see the upside to the extra exposure and scrutiny you have to endure to be a hot commodity?
Amber Rose: Well, I mean, you know what it is — it’s Hollyweird. It’s like weird out there. It’s like your most embarrassing moments — the things that you think are gonna really just ruin your life and the things that you cry over — just make it better. It’s just weird.
I’m not gonna say that the pictures made it better, but honestly I think that people just don’t care. It’s like shit happens, you know, and that shit was out of my hands. So it happened, you know, and it’s unfortunate. I cried a lot. I was upset. I mean, I’m over it now. I have to be. But um, I don’t know, it’s just like that I guess.
In an age where women in the industry are demeaned and trashed as groupies and video hos, are you ever surprised at how much your fans seem to sympathize with your story in particular?
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