Wacked out morals
Submission made by a student who wished to remain anonymous, all opinions are held by the student writer and not TCS as a publication
On Tuesday, February 12th, the rapper Stormzy announced his new partnership with McDonald’s, collaborating to make The Stormzy Meal - his supposed go-to order of nine chicken nuggets, fries, a Sprite, an Oreo McFlurry, and BBQ sauce. However, he has faced backlash due to the hypocrisy that this move invokes.
McDonald’s has been at the centre of boycott movements due to its perceived support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. At the beginning of the war in October 2023, McDonalds Israel provided free meals to Israeli soldiers during the Israel-Hamas conflict, leading to the widespread condemnation of the fast-food giant.
Stormzy performing at the O2
“active choice not to extend his commitment to social justice”
Stormzy has long positioned himself as a man of moral integrity, never shying away from discourse around the justice of individuals. In 2018, he famously used his BRIT awards performance to highlight the government’s negligence in the wake of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire. The fire caused 72 deaths, and the government was criticised for being complacent with decades of inadequate cladding on the housing estate - seemingly stemming from a broader indifference towards the safety of its residents, most of whom were poor, immigrants, or people of colour. He directly called out the former Prime Minister, Theresa May, rapping “Yo, Theresa May, where’s the money for Grenfell? What, you thought we just forgot about Grenfell?”. Additionally, his launch of The Stormzy Scholarship addresses the racial disparities in higher education by funding black students at the University of Cambridge.
The campaign surrounding this partnership, where customers are being invited to “order like Stormzy”, saw his local Croydon branch temporarily rebranded as ‘Big Mikes’. The locality of the campaign seems to reinforce his commitment to the working-class black community he hailed from. However, just a few days before the announcement of this collaboration, Stormzy deleted posts where he claimed to be “on the side of the oppressed” “100 times out of 100” in reference to the suffering of innocent civilians. So, his narrative now feels hollow given his active choice not to extend his commitment to social justice from 2018 to 2025.
“Stormzy’s generosity dismantled some of the fears I had about entering a historically elite institution.”
As a recipient of the Stormzy scholarship, I have greatly benefitted from Stormzy’s patronage. Not only did the scholarship relieve me from financial burdens but gave me confidence that my place at Cambridge was valid and not a fluke. Stormzy’s generosity dismantled some of the fears I had about entering a historically elite institution.
“abandoned his morals”
But now, I find myself grappling with the hypocrisy of a man who once uplifted marginalised voices, yet seems to have abandoned his morals the moment a lucrative deal was waved in front of him. The power of a platform is dependent on more than what is said. If Stormzy stands by the principles he has advocated for, he should not ignore the concerns of those who have supported him.
Yes, Stormzy, “heavy is the head that wears the crown”, but surely you can make that load a little bit lighter.