Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s menswear artistic director and the brand’s first African American designer, is setting the record straight. The designer was under fire after he shared a receipt showing that he only donated $50 to help bail out those protesting George Floyd’s death.
On Instagram, he explains that the entire incident is a misunderstanding. In a lengthy statement, he starts by saying, “I am a black man. A dark black man. Like dark-dark. On an average trip to the grocery store in Chicago I fear I will die.”
He then goes on to justify the receipt he showed on his Instagram story. “I also joined a social media chain of friends who were matching $50 dollar donations,” he wrote before revealing that he actually donated $20,500. He also adds that he initially didn’t want to publicize the dollar amount he gave. “I was on the fence about publicizing total dollar amounts because I didn’t want to look like I’m glorifying only higher amounts or that I want to be applauded for it.”
Read the full statement from Virgil Abloh below.