ICYMI, Goodwill has been under some heat for being sassy to everyone's favorite love-hate rapper turned fashion designer. What could our favorite place to get kitschy grandpa sweaters and dollar books have done to piss off Yeezy? Apparently, Goodwill mocked Kanye West by using images of his face to "demonstrate how employees should NOT react to workplace situations," according to MTV News. And this, people, is why you should beware of making pop culture references. You never know when they'll turn on you.
According to MTV, "An internal newsletter from the company’s Illinois division used a pic of Kanye West’s expressionless mug [...] 'Do you suffer from Resting Kanye Face?' the headline asks, adding underneath, 'Those who do, may not be seen by others as ‘approachable.'"
The newsletter features Kanye's seemingly bored, glaring face at the top, with emotions like "happy," "concerned," and "excited" written underneath each one. It's meant to get the point across to employees that you need a little variety in your expressions and demeanor if you want customers to know how you're feeling. If you're just staring them down, for instance, they likely won't know what's going on. The newsletter then goes on to give tips on how to appear more approachable and less million-mile-stare-esque.
Although it seems like Goodwill was just joining in on the endless jabs at Kanye's seeming inability to smile, others felt it had the potential to be offensive to West.
MTV News reported that after receiving many complaints about the page, the Illinois division was forced to take down the Kanye image newsletters from stores and even issued a formal apology to Mr. West.
TMZ reported that the apology read, “We’d like to apologize to Kanye West, his fans and the community for the use of his image to illustrate an internal training message. It was unacceptable and Goodwill takes full responsibility for this action and meant no disrespect to Kanye.”
When TMZ asked Goodwill why it went this route, a representative said that they "felt it was being 'relatable' by using the rapper's face, but in hindsight they realized it was wrong."
While this isn't the first time West has had to endure jabs over his inability to smile, chances are he's not too overly hurt by Goodwill's attempts at being witty. After all, he did explain why he'd rather keep a perma-scowl on his face, and he sticks by that decision.
For those of you who don't remember, West told us how he felt about smiling by recounting coming across an old book at a Paris flee market at the 2015 Fashion Los Angeles Awards:
"Back when I was working on Yeezus, I saw this book from the 1800s and it was velvet-covered with brass and everything. I looked at all these people’s photos and they look so real and their outfits were incredible and they weren’t smiling and people, you know the paparazzi, always come up to me, ’Why you not smiling?’ and I think, not smiling makes me smile. When you see paintings in an old castle, people are not smiling cause it just wouldn’t look as cool."
So there you have it — the man is just trying to be cool. We should probably leave him and his glare in peace.
But just to prove the man knows how to crack a grin or two, here are three times West showed the haters wrong.
1. When He Played With North At The Beach
This moment will make you want to pick up the phone and call your dad or fatherly figure in your life, because the father-daughter love coming off the picture is too sweet to bare. Kanye West at the beach with North is next level love. When West dresses down his label-wearing kid into sneakers and a white tee and goes playing in the surf, well, how could he not burst out in cheesy-happy smiles?
2. When He Met POTUS
Doing a photo-op with the leader of the nation deserves a smile or two, don't you think? And West delivered.
3. When He Hangs Out With Kim
I'm sorry, but when you're hanging out with the love of your life, it can be pretty hard to keep that perma-scowl on your face. West can be caught laughing and totally-smitten-by-you-smiling every time he's within arm's reach of his wife.
So there you have it. Mr. West does, in fact, do his fair share of grinning.
