
By Gabe Friedman
Incendiary rapper Azealia Banks announced her engagement to artist Ryder Ripps by posting a photo on Instagram of a ring with a menorah on it and writing āIām Jewish now. MAZEL TOV BITCHES!ā in the caption.
Some social media users took issue with the proclamation, implying that Banks could not assume a Jewish identity by marrying a Jewish person or that wearing a symbol of Judaism was disrespectful. Banks ā who isĀ known for getting into feudsĀ with public figures on Twitter ā shot back.
Hereās one representative exchange, which ends with Banks declaring, āIām a jewcy diva now.ā
In another exchange, Banks likened her connection to Judaism to the gender identity of transgender people, in an analogy that someĀ decried as transphobic.
Banks is no stranger to controversy. In 2016, during one of her high profile Twitter rants, sheĀ directed racial epithets at Pakistani-English pop star Zayn MalikĀ and lost her slot at a U.K. music festival.
Ripps is a 34-year-old art director and conceptual artist who has not made a Jewish identity part of his public persona. His father Rodney, also an artist, once showed some of his art inĀ an exhibit at New York Cityās Jewish Museum on āJewish Themes.ā
