'Stand up for Yourself, Brother,' T.I. Scolds Man on the Street for Wearing Gucci

After their blackface jumper scandal, Gucci has earned a sworn enemy on rapper T.I. The star is determined to boycott the fashion brand and went as far as to scold a stranger on the street for wearing the brand’s clothes.

T.I is a man on a mission: boycott Gucci and any other high-end fashion brand that disrespects his culture. And while he has been vocal about his efforts, even sharing a plan of action against the Italian fashion house on Instagram, not everyone has got the memo.

A few days ago, the “Family Hustle” star was caught on camera scolding an unidentified black man for donning some Gucci clothes.

In the clip, T.I can be seen donning black pants, hoodie, a gray coat, and sunglasses, while he confronts the other man for supporting the brand after their balaclava wool jumper scandal at the start of the year.

“Stand up for yourself, brother,” T.I. told the man in the video. And added:

“It’s what’s in you, not what’s on you. That s**t ain’t s**t until we put it on! We make that s**t fly! Look at me, n***a. I’m fly as a motherf****r, and I ain’t got that s**t on. I look better than you, as a matter of fact [sic].”

The man tried to defend his position by stating that T.I used to wear the brand too, but the rapper clapped back saying: “They showed me their disrespect, so guess what? I can’t do it no more.”

At the end of the video, both men ended their discussion with a handshake and a hug, although is not clear if they agreed to disagree or if T.I was able to persuade the man not to wear the brand’s clothes anymore.

Earlier in the year, Gucci was under fire after putting on sale a black wool jumper that featured a turtle neck that can be pulled up to the face to cover the nose. The piece featured a cut out for the mouth with big red lips around it.

People in the black community were offended by the image, which they said clearly depicted blackface.

Although Gucci swiftly removed the piece from their stores and website and issued an apology about it, T.I was not happy with the situation and made it clear on his Instagram account.

“We ain’t going for this “oops my bad I didn’t mean to be racist and disrespectful towards your people” s**t!!! Y’all knew wtf y’all was doing and WE AINT GOING FOR IT!!! We ALL GOTTA Stop buying, wearing, and supporting this piece of s**t company,[sic]” he wrote on a post with a picture of the brand’s logo.

And added,

“Our culture RUNS THIS S**T!!! We (People of color) spend $1.25 TRILLION/year (but are the least respected and the least included), and if we stop buying ANYTHING, they MUST correct any and ALL of our concerns. That’s THE ONLY WAY we can get some RESPECT PUT ON OUR NAME!!!”

T.I has one more reason to keep on pushing his boycott against Gucci: it was his late sister’s wish for him to do it.

Precious Harris, the rapper’s oldest sister, passed away last month after being involved in a car crash.

Amid his mourning process, T.I shared a screen capture of the last text message he got from her.

In it, Precious mentioned how high-end brands like Gucci were nothing until rappers and people in the hip hop community started consuming their products. “Y’all rappers started spending, and they capitalize on it. I know what I’m talking about,” said Precious.

“THIS WHY IM STAYING ON @gucci NECK!!! Cause SHE SAID SO!!!!,[sic]” T.I explained on his caption.

While he has most of the community’s support, is clear that there are still some unbothered people that are quick to forgive and forget when it comes to brands showing blatant racism and covering it up with a simple apology.