Mary J. Blige is perhaps my favorite R & B singer of all times. Correction: was my most favorite R & B singer of all time.
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My list went like this: 1. Mary J. Blige, 2. Erykah Badu, and 3. India Arie. Honestly, the only reason that Mary beat Erykah was simply the duration of my being a fan. I’ve listed to Ms. Blige’s music since the early 1990s, whereas Erykah did not join my music collection until the early 2000s.
As teenager in the 1990s, struggling through the typical growing pains and pressures that face a teenage girl, Mary J. Blige’s music really spoke to me. She was a strong woman, wasn’t afraid to put her feelings out there, and just epitomized “cool.” I fondly remember Saturday nights, cruising around town with my friends, singing “Not Gon’ Cry” at the top our lungs! It was the ultimate chick-power song.
I was therefore greatly dismayed to learn recently that Mary J. is a huge fan of fur! In fact, a Google image search of “Mary J. Blige Fur”, yielded this result!
It was one of those defining moments for me where someone who is so high in my regard, just takes a sudden fall from grace. What was worse for me was Mary J.’s response to the call for her to stop wearing fur!
In a response to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) requesting her to stop wearing fur, she said, “They don’t want to throw paint on my coat because it’s not just going to be throwing paint. It’s going to be Mary in the news the next day, you know what I mean?” Not only couldn’t she come back with a professional, composed, response, she actually seemed to make threats! I understand feeling attacked, and perhaps she felt that they came on a little strong, but she did not come off as the strong and cool Mary J. Blige who I have admired for so long. And it disappoints me that she doesn’t even seem to be considering the possibility of exploring how the animals that make up her fur coat have died.
To be honest, I do not see a point in writing her about this; perhaps that is wrong and she just needs persistence and education. I am much happier taking her out of my top 3, and moving Erykah and India Arie up that ladder. Because, happily, a Google search on both of them revealed no fur. And that is the kind of artist that I want to look up to.
If you would like to get a letter to Mary J. Blige, you can contact her management at:
Mary J. Blige
c/o International Creative Management
10250 Constellation Blvd., 7th floor
Lost Angeles, CA 90067
Blogging off,
Jessica