The very busy Jonathan Majors, who is currently promoting two movies (Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania and Creed 3) recently gave his thoughts regarding the backlash surrounding his recent Ebony cover, which some are calling 'emasulating.'
via HotNewHipHop:
Ahead of the Quantumania premiere, Majors shares his thoughts on the cover backlash. After receiving over 30 messages upon its release, the Lovecraft Country standout chose to focus on the shoot’s positive aspects. He mainly applauds the creativity behind the talent responsible, adding “it’s always good to make a ruckus.” Stylist Alexander-Julian Gibbson, a noted anime fan, took inspiration from One Piece manga character Donquixote Doflamingo.
Here's what stylist Julian Anderson had to say about the backlash:
"I believe you can be inspired by anything—your surroundings, the people you are with, what you see, color and more. I love anime, I've watched it for years. I draw a lot of style inspiration from anime, and One Piece is particularly stylish. I like the show not just because it is anime but because it talks about real-world issues like slavery, government corruption and other mature themes,"
"Cosplay wasn't the shoot's theme but my personal beliefs about styling led me to find an innate inspiration from Doflamingo which is funny because he is extremely masculine in the show," continues Julian. "Black comic book fans would likely resonate with this because there is a lot of crossover between comic book/Marvel fans and anime fans. That was one of the reasons I chose to call this out in his look because it would resonate with a specific group of people who have poured themselves into these mediums that have not always been socially accepted. These genres have millions of Black fans, who are not always represented in the fandom."
Jonathan Majors is currently gearing up to go up against Adonis Creed as Damian Anderson in Creed’s third installment. The film, out March 3, centers around their relationship from childhood as they prepare to get in the ring with each other. Majors will also appear at the 54th NAACP Image Awards this Saturday, February 25 to receive accolades for his theatrical efforts. He’s up for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in 2022’s war film, Devotion.
I had no idea that wearing pink, or crossing your legs, or pouting your lips was challenging to ones manhood. It really says more about the people calling Jonathan's sexuality into question than the artist himself.
It also shows how culturally handicapped a lot of you are.
There have been plenty of men who have dressed flamboyantly on stage - Prince, Parliament Funkadelic, Isaac Hayes, Lil Richard, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Iggy Pop, Miguel, Lil Nas X, Young Thug, Jimi Hendrix, Bad Bunny, Maluma, J Balvin, Lil Uzi Vert, Tyler, The Creator, Kid Cudi, Andre 3000, Steve Lacy, Harry Styles. The list goes on and on.
At the end of the day, there is no agenda out there to emasculate Black men. If anything, there is a mission to allow them to feel liberated enough from the shackles of hegemonic masculinity—the dictation that governs how a man should act in society based on outdated rules—to embrace whatever self-expression feels best for them.