Today (Jan. 2), Kid Cudi confronted a critic who condemned his 2021 “Saturday Night Live” appearance, where he paid homage to Kurt Cobain by wearing a dress. The Twitter user insinuated the rapper’s performance was part of an “illuminati humiliation ritual.”

Addressing the person, Cudi wrote, “This post is mad f**kin’ lame of [you] and sad. A Black man can’t express himself and be confident AND successful [without] it being some conspiracy.”

His post continued, “My success was given to me by God with the help of my many angels. All [you] people in the [comments] that have been tweetin’ me all day about this s**t can gargle on my mayo. This moment was a proud moment for me, a shinin’ moment for all people who express themselves in their art. I felt free and alive. It inspired people, and nothing [you] stupid, simple a**es say can take that away from me.”

In the past, Cudi has been vocal about his fashion choices, including his decision to wear the dress as a tribute to Cobain. He discussed the significance of the performance in a 2021 appearance on “The Shop: Uninterrupted.”

“I was at this point where I was looking on my phone, kind of looking at all these different stores and looking at dresses. I was just like, this is cute, this is cute,” Cudi shared. The artist also revealed he didn’t initially consider Virgil Abloh for the dress design but eventually chose to work with him.

Pete Davidson also commented on the backlash by emphasizing that such criticism helps identify close-minded individuals. “I thought it was great. I think, you know, when you get criticism like that, it’s just like, OK, cool, those are people I don’t really wanna associate myself with anyway.”

Conversations around gender norms within the Hip Hop community have been going on for several years. Lil Nas X, Saucy Santana, Lil Uzi Vert and Young Thug are other artists who have faced scrutiny for their fashion choices or sexuality.