Is Sexyy Red Too Red?

Janae Wherry, better known as Sexyy Red is everywhere, and whether you like her or not, it is undeniable that she is enigmatic. If you are somewhere in the middle, you will probably find her antics hilarious but somewhat troubling. One look at her first viral video “Ah Thousand Jugs,” elicits laughter whether you want it to or not. In it, she samples the song “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton.

In the video, she totes a large AR-25-esque rifle and even, at one point, strums it like a guitar. 

Her singing is so off-key that it is hard not to think she is doing it on purpose. That was in 2018; five years later, her rise has been high enough to be noticed by the likes of esteemed humans like Ben Shapiro (that was sarcasm, by the way, especially the part about him being a human). Shapiro even dedicated a whole 11 and a half minutes to how detestable she is, even referencing a lyric about her committing murder. 

He also believes that Kyle Rittenhouse should not have even been on trial, but I digress.

The problem arises when the same people, like Shapiro, who have lambasted her soon become her champions, something we saw with Kanye West.

Sexyy Red’s music is catchy, and anyone who would dare say “awesome jawsome” in a song has definitely got comedic chops.  Her Instagram is full of funny videos, one where she parodies a Maury guest who found out he was “not the father,” and her avi is a picture of her stylized to look like a man. She even acknowledges in one Instagram reel that her songs are crazy. Red is calculated and not only does she know how to go viral, but she is the ultimate troll, and she knows the crazier she gets, the more people flock to her, whether it is with hate or with love. 

However, it is hard to ignore that some of her antics may have dangerous consequences for those who take her seriously.

This weekend, Sexyy Red took the stage at the annual Roots Picnic music festival. The festival, which was started in 2008 by the Roots music group, normally caters to the Neo-Soul R&B-loving crowd, so it was no surprise that there was some objection to her being part of the lineup, even though Lil Wayne received less pushback. Red appeared on stage with a fake Secret Service agent, dressed in red, white and blue with a giant inflatable red hat that read, “Make America Sexyy Again,” an homage to current Republican presidential candidate and convicted felon Donald Trump.

While some people may write it off as simple fun, Sexyy Red has previously stated in an interview with comedian and podcaster Theo Von that she loves Trump and he needs to be back in office, even going so far as to say they love Trump in the hood. She mentions stimulus checks as her main reasoning. It would be hard to fathom that a Black woman who is on a song that casually mentions abortion and who is the survivor of a sexual assault would have another reason to like him. 

Sexyy Red is an entertainer, and no less entertaining and raunchy than many of her male rap artists counterparts, who have used sex and the threat of violence to sell records, including Lil Wayne, but they probably are not the best people to follow politically anyway. There is something genius about being in on the joke when others are unaware that you are, but with that said, that can lead to the joke going too far.

Hating your baby daddy is something that a lot of people can relate to, but grandstanding for Trump is teetering into dangerous territory when someone can be swayed into thinking that Trump is good for the United States to have as a president.

If Shapiro hates you, there is a pretty good chance that you are on the right side of history, but when Shapiro’s followers become your new fans, not because of your music, but because you stand far away from your actual supporters’ political alignments, that is still being on the right side, but unfortunately the far-right side, an indication that you may have gone too far.