Kid Cudi Ripped A Critic Who Called His ‘SNL’ Dress An ‘Illuminati Humiliation Ritual’

In addition to pushing the boundaries of hip-hop, Kid Cudi has long held a reputation for also pushing those of fashion. He solidified his adventurous sense of style in 2021, when he performed on Saturday Night Live wearing a white floral dress by Off-White, the brand founded by his friend Virgil Abloh, in a tribute to Kurt Cobain, who’d similarly done so in the early ’90s. While the move received praise from members of the cast, Cudi knew he’d receive backlash for it, but wasn’t worried.

He wasn’t wrong, either; even today, nearly three years later, he’s receiving criticism for the iconic moment — but he isn’t taking it lying down. When a user on Twitter posted a video of the performance and called it an “Illuminati humiliation ritual” (yes, they had a blue check, funny how that works now), Cudi lit into them for making such an ignorant, frankly misogynistic and homophobic statement.

“Its the start of a new year and I got time for muthaf*ckas like u today,” he wrote. “This post is mad f*ckin lame of u and sad. A black man cant express himself and be confident AND successful with out it being some conspiracy. My success was givin to me by God with the help of my many angels. All u people in the commenfs that have been tweetin me all day about this sh*t can gargle on my mayo. This moment was a proud moment for me, a shinin moment for all people who express themselves in their art. I felt free and alive, it inspired people and nothing u stupid simple asses say can take that away from me.”

There’s plenty of writing about how gender norms and fashion have changed — even in recent years. If there’s any consolation for Cudi, it’s that he’s not alone. Rap fans have criticized Lil Nas X, Lil Uzi Vert, and Young Thug for wearing “women’s clothes” but that doesn’t seem to be stopping them from expressing themselves as they see fit.