Sir Mix-a-Lot Doesn't See the Problem

Blake Lively has been causing quite a stir during her glamorous few weeks at the Cannes Film Festival, but not all of the buzz has been great. Of course, we've loved seeing her tiny baby bump and her giggly photo session with Kristen Stewart, but on Tuesday, the actress faced social media heat for the way she captioned a red carpet Instagram snap. "L.A. face with an Oakland booty," Blake wrote alongside two snaps of her in a sequined cutout dress; the phrase, if you don't recognize it, comes from the wildly popular Sir Mix-a-Lot song, "Baby Got Back."

Blake faced criticism for the obvious racial undertones that implicate a noted difference between what constitutes an "LA face" and an "Oakland booty." While it's not necessarily wrong to feel offended by the implications of the snap, it's worth exploring how much harm Blake actually did. In the age of social media, using lyrics to caption a photo is commonplace; it's a cute way to punctuate a moment you'd like to share without getting too serious. Hell, we even called out some new lyrics from Beyoncé's Lemonade that would be perfect for a snap. So, it's clear Blake used the phrase without malicious intent, but does that make it any less problematic?

Sir Mix-a-Lot himself actually defended the caption during an interview with New York Daily News. "I don't get it at all," he said. "She's saying she's proud of her butt. I'm glad she embraced the look, because that's what I wanted . . . All I would say to the critics is let's better understand the context of what she said. If what she's saying is 'I have this butt that Mix-a-Lot was talking about in 'Baby Got Back,' that's a good thing. She's saying I've embraced this ideal of beautiful . . . I'm glad she didn't pull it down. I don't think she should." What do you think? Share your thoughts in our poll below, then share with your friends.