Among the speakers at this year’s Republican National Convention, few have raised eyebrows more than Amber Rose, a late-aughts hip-hop video vixen turned sex-positive, feminist media personality and founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the SlutWalk. How did Rose, who once called Donald Trump a “f—ing idiot,” become not only an ardent supporter but a guest of honor at the conservative party’s biggest fête? I went searching for the answers so you didn’t have to.
Amber Rose looks kind of familiar, but I’m not sure where I know her from. Remind me what she’s famous for?
She first entered the public consciousness in 2008, when she appeared in Young Jeezy’s music video for his song “Put On,” featuring Ye (formerly Kanye West), then in Ludacris’ music video for “What Them Girls Like.” Ye and Rose began a highly publicized romance that would last until 2010. Throughout the course of their relationship, Rose was often reduced to Ye’s model-vixen girlfriend, and she became constant fodder for tabloid headlines, with photos of her (and her signature shaved, platinum-blond hairstyle) often accompanied by gossip tinged with slut-shaming.
Shortly after her breakup with Ye, Rose dated rapper Wiz Khalifa, whom she married in 2013. They had a child, then divorced the following year.
Notably, Rose has also had a relationship with Def Jam exec Alexander “AE” Edwards—with whom she has a son by the unique name of Slash Electric Alexander Edwards—who is now dating Cher. (Yes, the Cher.)
All right, enough with her dating history. What else is Rose known for?
Before and during her popular couplings, Rose dabbled in music and launched a few failed fashion ventures. After her divorce from Khalifa, she made a name for herself in a number of industries across the entertainment sphere. She published a book, How to Be a Bad Bitch, in 2015; hosted a short-lived VH1 talk show, The Amber Rose Show, in 2016; and served as a co-host of the radio show–turned–podcast Loveline from 2016–18. Last year, her stint on the reality TV series College Hill, on which she made some comments about her mixed race, sparked controversy.
For much of the 2010s, the media associated Rose primarily with dating rappers and suggested that she was sexually flitting from one to the other. It didn’t help that the fallout from dating Ye was particularly nasty, perhaps best evidenced by Ye’s comment that he needed to take “30 showers” after breaking up with Rose, before infamously dating Kim Kardashian. Given her experiences, she has been a notably vocal feminist advocate for sex positivity, abortion rights, and slut shaming awareness. In that regard, Rose is also well known for organizing Los Angeles’ Amber Rose SlutWalk, a chapter of a widespread protest movement that calls for an end to slut-shaming, victim-blaming, and rape culture. From 2015 to 2018, Rose allegedly raised more than $50,000 for the cause, while sharing her experiences of being slut-shamed as a teen and as a public figure.
OK, so now I know about Amber Rose. It doesn’t sound as if she would be a conservative?
Indeed, she has not always been. In fact, in a 2016 interview with the Daily Beast, Rose said that she was voting for Hillary Clinton, claiming, “I love her, and always have.” She then said that if Trump won, she would move to Canada. In an interview with the Cut later that year, when asked about her Daily Beast comments, Rose called Trump a “f—ing idiot,” claiming he was “so weird,” and stating, “I really hope he’s not president.”
So when did all of this change?
On May 20 of this year, Rose posted a photo of her, Trump, and Melania to her Instagram with the caption “Trump 2024” and three American flag emojis. In June, a notorious Trump supporter on X posted a video of himself and Rose sitting in a convertible and wearing MAGA hats. In the video, he asks Rose whom she’s voting for, to which she responds, “Donald Trump, baby! 2024!” before flashing a MAGA ring and following up with: “I’m engaged to the game. MAGA, baby!” Don’t ask me to explain that last bit, because I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
Let me get this straight. Someone who has been very vocal about championing victims of sexual assault, rape, harassment, and slut-shaming has decided to support a presidential candidate who, years prior, she claimed was a “f—ing idiot” and who has been found guilty of sexual abuse and has been recorded saying things like “Grab her by the pussy”?
Yes. That pretty much sums it up. And you’re not the only one smelling hypocrisy in the air. In fact, given the complete 180 and the fact that Rose’s MAGA hat–totin’ era seems to have come out of nowhere, there’s a growing conspiracy that Rose must be getting paid heavily to ride hard for Trump.
But why?
Although we don’t know the entire story behind Rose’s political swing, she did criticize Biden in an Instagram comment on a Shade Room post about her newfound Trump devotion. In the comment, Rose insinuates that Biden doesn’t care about Black people, states that Trump “supports the most reasonable compromise on abortion”—it is unclear whether Rose still holds the staunch pro-choice values she exhibited in 2020—and claims that people of color have been brainwashed. She also throws in some TERF-y transphobia for good measure, noting that “y’all want biological men in women’s sports 🙄” and stating that she “ALWAYS put[s] women first.”
What do we know about her upcoming speech at the RNC?
On July 8, Rose announced her involvement in the event, tweeting a Trump 2024 logo with the caption: “It’s true! I’m speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee #MAGA.” What that will look like, however, is anyone’s guess.
Though this might seem random, it doesn’t feel that far out of the realm of possibility for the Republican Party to try and win over other demographics by hoisting up a media personality known within the Black community as a feminist who was unfairly publicly shamed for perceived sexual exploits.
Yes! In fact, my colleague Luke Winkie has already been on this beat a bit, having written about the right’s co-opting of the “Hawk Tuah” girl and the ways in which both the Republicans and the Democrats use (or refuse to use) sex and sexualization in their platforms and chosen mascots. Clearly, when it comes down to widening their base, Republicans aren’t afraid to get a little erotic by idolizing women who are vocal about things like oral sex and masturbation.
It should be noted, though, that this tack hasn’t been welcomed by all Trumpers, like Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis, who tweeted: “The RNC is trading Lila Rose for Amber Rose. Pro-life for pro-abortion. Live Action for SlutWalk. That’s a reflection of Trumpworld over God’s truth. Christians and conservatives should not support this.” Unsurprisingly, the anti-Trump conservative faction is also feasting on this unanticipated choice: The Lincoln Project noted mournfully, “This is what the Republican Party has become,” while conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg tweeted, “Res ipsa loquitur”—Latin for “The thing speaks for itself.”
No matter your personal feelings on the topic, you have to admit that getting the “(GYHO) Get Ya Hoe On” rapper to speak at the RNC is bound to make waves. I’m just waiting to see if her performance causes a ripple or a tsunami.
