Being a Black woman in the entertainment industry is an extremely difficult tightrope walk.
You have to project the image fans want, while also figuring out a way to stay true to yourself. You have to be the “strong Black woman,” but not too strong, or else you’ll come off as “the angry Black woman.” No matter how hard you try to carefully balance all these expectations, someone is always ready to tell you you’re doing it wrong.
Rap superstar Cardi B is the latest high-profile woman to express how mentally straining it all can be.
The “Up” artist had a tough 2023, as she and her husband, Offset, went through a very public rough patch in their marriage. Though her singles regularly top the charts, she’s under constant pressure to put out a new album. During an interview with Complex’s “360 with Speedy,” she explained how the fear caused by the intense scrutiny led her to withdraw from being so public.
“I just feel like I lost myself with everything, a lot of music commenters and a lot of people just be like, ‘She’s afraid to drop an album, she’s afraid to drop music,’” Cardi said. “Last year, I barely dropped music. It’s just like I was just afraid to do everything.”
The Bronx native, who has been very open about her life in the past, revealed that she backed away from social media because the criticism became too much. She thought being an “open book” would help her, but it’s had the opposite effect.
“I was afraid to go live, I was afraid to post a picture, I was afraid to go to the club, and then the next day seeing people, what they going to say about me, and everything,” she said.
Cardi is just the latest example of a famous Black woman being chased out of the spotlight by the internet mob. When she lost the Oscar in 2023, Angela Bassett was heavily criticized for showing disappointment in the moment — as if she can’t be gracious and sad at the same time. Everyone had an opinion on how she was supposed to handle the situation without taking into account that behind the superstar actress there is a real person with real feelings.
Not even being the biggest star in the world makes you immune from impossible expectations. Every moment of Beyoncé’s life is scrutinized, with strangers offering unsolicited opinions on her looks, clothes, marriage and parenting. These are aspects of her life on which she doesn’t want or need random opinions.
It’s one thing if you want to offer constructive reviews of their art, but making things so personal to the point that they’re afraid to live their normal lives is over the line. When you become that person who has to comment on every little thing and is stopping others from enjoying their life, you need to take a long look at who you are.
One thing that’s certain: you don’t get to call yourself a fan anymore.
