Rapper Young Thug, known for “masterpieces” like “Free Blac Youngsta” and “WTF U Doin,” made headlines last week after he donated all proceeds from his recent New York City concert to Planned Parenthood. He made the announcement on Twitter, justifying his decision with the line: “I was a teenage parent. Planned+unplanned parenthood is beautiful.”
Young Thug, or “Thug” as he’s known by many, is the latest celebrity to jump on the Planned Parenthood train. From Lena Dunham and Elizabeth Banks to Jennifer Lawrence and Sarah Silverman, Planned Parenthood has enlisted countless high-profile stars to resist defunding efforts. Like the rest of these folks, Thug’s support for Planned Parenthood is hypocritical at best.
Thug isn’t exactly the poster boy for family planning. He’s actually sired six children by four different women. This might not be shocking for a rapper — if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s only 26-years old. Let that sink in for a moment.
Moreover, his tweet contradicts the main purpose of Planned Parenthood — abortions.
Without blinking an eye, however, Planned Parenthood responded with open arms to its newest spokesperson. The organization responded with this statement: “We welcome new supporters of our work and will continue to educate communities about the rights of women, men and young people.”
The rapper clearly hasn’t used Planned Parenthood’s family planning services at any stage of his young life so far, which begs the question: why would the non-profit giant want this hypocritical endorsement? Simply put, Planned Parenthood wants to piggyback on his influence.
The value of Thug’s single tweet to two million followers is probably worth more than the entire amount of his donation, and reaches a demographic that the organization has been targeting since its inception: young minorities.
Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, was a well-known racist eugenicist who once wrote, “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.”
Despite its best PR efforts, it hasn’t strayed from its roots. A 2012 study showed that Planned Parenthood targets women of color by placing 79 percent of its surgical abortion facilities within walking distance of minority neighborhoods. Unsurprisingly, the majority of its abortions are performed on minorities.
While the organization claims to “believe in inclusion and diversity,” it also believes in making money, and abortions are a huge moneymaker.
Unlike Planned Parenthood’s other celebrity advocates who are predominantly privileged white women, Thug aligns with the racial demographic that is most likely to have an abortion. About 30 percent of black pregnancies end in abortion. For this reason, Planned Parenthood was able to look past the rapper’s blatant hypocrisy and accept the money.
Because…they “care. No matter what.”
