Rapper Boosie Badazz‘s daughter Iviona Hatch is standing up for herself and the LGBTQ+ community following her father’s longstanding history of homophobic comments.
The 21-year-old, who came out as lesbian last year, took aim at Boosie in an emotional but empowering video shared on Instagram, captioned in part, “It’s not about u accepting it because I don’t need u to, I’M GROWN!! It can be you simply don’t like it and move on.”
As Hatch, who’s launched her own hip-hop career as Poison Ivi, began: “[My father is] always speaking on my sexuality, and it’s been about two years now that I’ve kept quiet.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The clip has received over 1.9 million views.
Watch.
The post is largely in response to an interview Boosie did on Yung Miami’s Caresha, Please podcast, in which he implied his daughter’s sexuality would “contaminate” his other children.
“[Iviona] still can’t bring her situation to our house,” he said. “It’s a generation we’re raising, and I don’t want her to get too contaminated for her other six or seven sisters who look up to her. I want them to bring me grandchildren.”
(The rapper has also come under fire for homophobic rants against Lil Nas X, LGBTQ+ representation on television, and the Wade family after they supported their daughter’s transition.)
While Iviona admitted she’s done “everything in my power to understand that this is my father, regardless,” she was offended by his accusations about her siblings, whom she “loves and respects.”
“I never said you were a bad father,” she explained, “But emotionally, mentally, you suck … and I know you suck because you’d rather go to the internet and have a conversation with the internet about your kids before you come to us and have a conversation.”
Additionally, Iviona called out her dad for alleging that he learned about her sexuality through a viral photo. In actuality, she said, he found out when their family was in Jamaica and Boosie called her “a gay b-word.”
And while she tried to defend Boosie in past interviews by “[saying,] ‘He loves me regardless,'” Hatch admitted her dad’s recent comments showed that he doesn’t care about her “feelings” or “[her] heart.”
Most notably, Iviona, who recently dropped new music and shares adventures with girlfriend Jordy on YouTube, explained that she doesn’t remember her father ever being proud of her.
“If you broadcast my music the way you broadcast me being gay, maybe I’d be further than what I am,” she said, adding that he’s so worried about her sexuality that he doesn’t see her “true talent.”
Furthermore, she pointed out that her father has a song about two girls kissing in the backseat – “Do The Most” — which he’s been performing since she was a child.
“Now, if that ain’t contaminating, then what is,” she said.
The nearly ten-minute clip is a tough watch, though it seems to mark a new chapter for Iviona, who admitted that making the video was “the only way [she could] feel better.”
Hopefully, Boosie can understand the pain his daughter is feeling and the harm that comes from talking about her sexuality in public settings.
At the end of the day, Hatch shared some optimistic and humanizing words of wisdom with all parties involved, which fittingly inspired the title of her latest single.
“Be you, because you’re you, and at the end of the day, everybody is human,” she said. “You’re human, I’m human, and he’s human, too.”
Watch.
Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.
