Saweetie Responds To “Pretty Privilege” Criticism

Key Takeaways:

• Saweetie addressed a viral tweet accusing her of benefiting from “pretty privilege” by calling it “confirmation bias.”
• She explained that her appearance has often led to unfair treatment and bias in the music industry.
• Past interviews reveal she was once told to “twerk more” and that her voice was “very boring,” highlighting ongoing industry challenges.

Saweetie is speaking her truth. On Sunday (Sept. 14), the rapper responded to a social media user describing her as the “epitome of pretty privilege.”

Over the weekend, a clip from the “My Type” artist’s recent interview with HOT97’s Nessa made the rounds online. “There [have] been so many times I’ve been just counted out, and I know that it’s behind animosity,” Saweetie said during their sit-down on last Tuesday (Sept. 9). “I know it’s because of a hidden agenda, but it makes me work harder.”

“What I deal with in the industry is just different face, same case,” she explained. “I see it. It just shows up in different ways.”

In a quote-tweet reacting to the viral clip, one X user claimed, “This is the epitome of pretty privilege — being mediocre compared to other female rappers, but truly believing you’re being punished by the same industry solely because of your appearance when you’re only in it because of your appearance.”

“Hmmm, and this is the epitome of confirmation bias,” Saweetie clapped back. “I was just shedding light on how I’ve encountered many antagonistic scenarios because of my appearance.”

Saweetie has spoken about her experiences with the music industry many times before. In her March 2024 Allure cover story, she revealed that a record label executive told her she should “twerk more” and that her “voice was very boring.” Even so, she’s managed to rise above every bit of doubt thrown her way.

On the music side, the “Best Friend” hitmaker dropped HELLA PRESSURE in August. The project arrived with her Young Buck-sampling “boffum,” plus “twinzzz” and her TWICE collaboration, “superstars.” It also served as her first EP in about three years, albeit still not the long-awaited debut album fans have been waiting for.

She does, however, have a very understandable reason for giving fans an EP first. As she explained to Power 106 Los Angeles’ Justin Credible just a few weeks after its release, “You have to feed them the appetizers and then you come with the entrées.”