Tyler, The Creator is facing mounting backlash after old social media posts and photos resurfaced online — including one where he appears to wear Ku Klux Klan-style attire and another showing what’s been compared to a Nazi salute.
The controversial images, reportedly from the early days of Tyler’s career, began circulating again amid an ongoing debate sparked by his recent tribute to late neo-soul icon D’Angelo.
In one image, Tyler appears in white face paint, similar to the satirical look he used in his “Buffalo” music video about ten years ago. Meanwhile, the photo tied to KKK imagery remains unclear in origin — and Tyler’s face isn’t visible in that shot.
Longtime fans know that the Tyler, The Creator we see today is a far cry from the one who first shook up the scene during the Odd Future era of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Back then, Tyler often leaned into shock humor and controversy—a kind of “edgelord” energy that many artists of that time embraced.
The newly resurfaced photos and posts have reignited criticism on X and other platforms, as fans and critics dig through old content. While some argue the posts reflect that early, provocative style, others—like his comments about George Zimmerman in 2013 or Black History Month in 2014—are being labeled as far more troubling, no matter when or why they were made.
Tyler hasn’t addressed the controversy publicly yet, but he’s confronted similar criticism before. On “Thought I Was Dead” from his 2024 album Chromakopia, he directly referenced “old tweets” and “old t-shirts,” rapping:
“White boys mockin’ this shit and y’all mad at me? Y’all can suck my dick
Pull up old tweets, pull up old t-shirts, all that, I’ll moonwalk over that bitch”
The “old t-shirts” line was widely believed to nod to a 2015 shirt design that reworked a neo-Nazi symbol into a LGBTQIA+ pride logo. Likewise, in his 2021 track “Manifesto” from the Grammy-winning Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler took aim at people “bringin’ old lyrics up,” saying he’d already faced cancel culture long before it became mainstream.
Recently, at the final stop of his world tour, Tyler hinted that he’s planning “a very long break,” admitting, “I’m fucking not 20 no more.” Fans will next see him on screen in December, when he makes his official acting debut in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet.
