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Called out! Rapper Chika Oranika has been killing the fashion game ever since she landed a Calvin Klein campaign and her own billboard back in May, and she’s not about to let the haters bring her down. On Wednesday, October 16, the star faced criticism from British YouTuber Dominique Samuels. But when the political commentator slammed the ad, the artist clapped right back.
“Why do we need the morbidly obese to speak the truth in their Calvins? Out of all the black plus-size models that exist, you just had to pick the one that looks five minutes from diabetes to promote unhealthy living, Calvin Klein? You should be ashamed,” Dominique said on Twitter. But Chika, 22, knew just how to respond while still keeping her cool. “Someone’s mad they’re not on a billboard,” she wrote.
Courtesy of Chika/Twitter
Sharing a screenshot of the interaction on Instagram, she added, “We still doing this? Lololol.” When another troll wouldn’t let the subject drop, she came for them too. “Whoops. Forgot to celebrate the ad showing an obese woman (who will likely suffer a plethora of health issues due to her size) … because she’s black,” they wrote. That’s when Chika went off. “The amount of anger you’re throwing at a person simply because you deem them unhealthy is a true testament to how much of a waste of space you are,” she wrote. “It’s also fascinating because even if I find someone ugly, like you for example, it doesn’t *anger* me.”
In a series of tweets, she continued to explain why exactly the hate she is getting is so messed up. “I shouldn’t have to defend my existence,” she wrote. “No one should. Especially simply based on size. It’s so barbaric and laughable that when I see people *attempt* to make an example of me, I only pity them and the people cursed to share the same oxygen as them. … I work hard, I provide for my family, I am talented as f–k and I am loved by close friends and strangers alike,” she continued. “All I do is chill and walk in my purpose [and] it’s enough to make you bitches mad. Stay mad. In fact, choke. We don’t need you here.”
I shouldn’t have to defend my existence. No one should. Especially simply based on size. It’s so barbaric and laughable that when I see people *attempt* to make an example of me, I only pity them and the people cursed to share the same oxygen as them.
The weirdest part about it all, though, is that — as Chika pointed out in one of her Tweets — the billboard “hasn’t been up for months.” Though her campaign went live in May, the models and celebrities on the billboards were swapped out every few weeks. “People are literally riling themselves up over a photo from a past advertisement,” she pointed out. And for those who claim to be concerned about her health, she laid it all out, sharing a tweet she’d written when the billboard first made its debut.
“1) I don’t have diabetes/high blood pressure/heart disease,” she wrote. “2) PCOS affects 1 in 10 women, causing weight gain, fertility issues and other annoying things. I’ve had it since I started puberty. 3) My body is my business. 4) I’m rich.”
