<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Jay Z -- under mounting pressure to sever his ties with Barneys New York after the luxury retailer was accused of racially profiling black customers -- finally addressed the accusations on his Life + Times website by defending his business partnership with the brand over the weekend.\r\nPHOTOS: Celebrities&amp;apos; 2013 Halloween costumes\r\nThe rap mogul&amp;apos;s statement came days after reports surfaced last week that two black customers, Trayon Christian and Kayla Phillips, said they had been subject to racial profiling by Barneys&amp;apos; employees. The backlash, which included a Change.org petition and Twitter movements, demanded Jay Z respond to the controversy in light of his highly-touted holiday collaboration with Barneys. While the brand&amp;apos;s CEO Mark Lee issued a statement in which he offered his &amp;quot;sincere regret and deepest apologies,&amp;quot; Jay Z remained silent until Saturday, Oct. 26.\r\n&amp;quot;I move and speak based on facts and not emotion,&amp;quot; he wrote under his birth name Shawn Carter. &amp;quot;I haven&amp;#x2019;t made any comments because I am waiting on facts and the outcome of a meeting between community leaders and Barneys.&amp;quot; Beyonce&amp;apos;s husband then asked in reference to multiple local and national news headlines, &amp;quot;Why am I being demonized, denounced and thrown on the cover of a newspaper for not speaking immediately?&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe entrepreneur, 43, whose personal story includes him overcoming a life of crime on the streets of Brooklyn to becoming one of the most prolific entertainers and businessmen in the music industry, also wanted to make it &amp;quot;crystal clear&amp;quot; that the beneficiary of sales from the Jay Z x Barneys collaboration would be his charity, The Shawn Carter Foundation. &amp;quot;This money is going to help individuals facing socio-economic hardships to help further their education at institutions of higher learning. My idea was born out of creativity and charity&amp;#x2026; not profit,&amp;quot; he wrote. &amp;quot;Making a decision prematurely to pull out of this project, wouldn&amp;#x2019;t hurt Barneys or Shawn Carter, but all the people that stand a chance at higher education.&amp;quot;&amp;#xA0;\r\nJay Z added he was forced into making a statement, which he did not want to do &amp;quot;without the full facts.&amp;quot; Meanwhile, the hip-hop artist&amp;apos;s Watch the Throne collaborator Kanye West had no problem blasting Barneys during an Oct. 25 concert in Las Vegas. &amp;quot;Don&amp;apos;t touch anything in the store. Excuse me, that&amp;apos;s that &amp;apos;Can I help you sir?&amp;apos;&amp;quot; an incredulous Yeezy said on stage during his &amp;quot;New Slaves&amp;quot; performance. &amp;quot;That&amp;apos;s that racial profiling out in front of Barneys and sh-t. Talking about, &amp;apos;Did you steal that?&amp;apos;&amp;quot;\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I am against discrimination of any kind,&amp;quot; Jay Z concluded. &amp;quot;But if I make snap judgements, no matter who it&amp;#x2019;s towards, aren&amp;#x2019;t I committing the same sin as someone who profiles?&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jay-z-demonized-for-barneys-collaboration-amid-racial-profiling-scandal-20132810>