Kanye West has drawn yet more controversy online after choosing an unusual food option for his birthday dinner.
It’s no secret that celebrities enjoy some pretty wild and raucous parties behind closed doors – whether it’s Oscar’s after parties or a lavish birthday bath, they sure do know how push the boat out.
But Kanye West has taken things in a frankly bizarre direction for his birthday, with the bash featuring sushi being served on a naked woman lying on the table.
I mean, where do you even start?
Does the performer just lie there for the whole party? What if she needs to sneeze or go to the bathroom?
There’s also the pretty big issue of how objectifying the whole thing is. It’s not only seedy, but also just plain tacky.
I’m not sure the writers of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia intended for the scene featuring this very phenomenon to be used as inspiration, but here we are.
Even leaving all the massive problems with this aside, wouldn’t the sushi get warm?
However, it turns out that the practice does have a name. Called ‘nyotaimori’ in Japanese, eating sushi off a naked woman dates back to the Edo period in Japan and it originally involved alcohol and quite a bit more than just food.
I’ll leave the rest to your imagination, but it’s exactly as grubby as it sounds.
The practice also saw a renaissance in Japan’s post-war economic boom.
Despite this, nyotaimori is widely condemned and it’s not difficult to see why. China has gone so far as to ban the practice, citing hygiene concerns, while other critics call it degrading, sexist, and objectifying.
Nonetheless, it is still widespread and can cost a lot of money as well. One company that organises bachelor parties includes nyotaimori, which starts at $2,000. Well, it would certainly be memorable.
People online had a mixed reaction to West’s party, which was held in Los Angeles on Saturday (10 June), after a video emerged showing the naked woman lying on a table covered in food.
People weren’t impressed with the rapper’s party featuring sushi being served off a naked woman. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
People weren’t impressed with the rapper’s party featuring sushi being served off a naked woman. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
One wrote: “I just don’t get it.. Why? Tradition? Ok but why! Just serve your food on a hygienic non sweating plate. What if she needed to pee? How did she get this job? ‘Hi I’m here for the audition for the Table job’? So many questions.”
Another highlighted West’s professed Christianity, responding: “What is this? Isn’t he the the guy who has been preaching about Jesus Christ?”
And a third wrote: “No leg to stand on when it comes to his rants about Kim and his Kids.”
Source: unilad.com