Erykah Badu is no stranger to campy outfits, her latest on Saturday at the Billboard Women in Music 2025. For the occasion, when she received the coveted Icon Award, Badu wore an exaggerated, sculpture-like look. As a soulful fashion icon, Badu knows how to draw a crowd around her voice and thought-provoking looks. This latest one has sparked much conversation on social media.
What Was Erykah Badu’s Outfit?
Conceptualized by the singer and created and engineered by Myah Hasbany, the textured flesh-toned ensemble features largely exaggerated breasts and an equally protruding bottom. Badu has collaborated with Hasbany on several artistic outfits, including her custom mega anemones shoes worn during her 2023 “Unfollow Me” tour.
According to Badu’s official Instagram, the outfit showcases the beauty of fertility and womanhood. “A lil Hippy. Rise of the dark divine feminine. – a short film by E. Badu,” the singer captioned a video of the look.
Where Did Erykah Badu Wear the Outfit?
Badu wore the suit at the Billboard Women in Music 2025, which honors women power players in the music industry annually. R&B rising songstress Summer Walker presented her with the Icon Award.
“This night is for us! It’s a night to celebrate the womb of the world, the womb of life, the womb reverse of all things. The smartest creature on planet Earth. The wisest, the most invincible, sexiest, purest, finest. The woman. I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to be born a woman!” Badu said while on stage at the Billboard event.
Donned in the eye-catching look, the Grammy-winning songstress went on to perform her single “Annie Don’t Wear No Panties.” In addition, Badu also teased the release of her first album in 15 years.
Why Did Erykah Badu Wear the Outfit?
As a soulful fashion icon, Badu has collaborated with Hasbany on several thought-provoking looks. Although the pair has yet to fully explain their latest one, it has already sparked much conversation on social media.
Some fans think Badu was ridiculing the rise of plastic surgery operations like brazilian butt lifts and breast augmentations. However, Black women have entered the chat to draw connections between the singer’s look and the heartbreaking story of Sara Baartman.
“It’s giving inspired by Sarah Baartman,” one user commented under Badu’s Instagram video.
“It’s giving divine feminine. Exaggerated body, womb sounds, the quietness and softness of movement. ART!” another comment read.
Who Was Sara Baartman?
According to the U.K.’s National Portrait Galler, Sara Baartman was exhibited for public viewing because of her body, which reflected physical features associated with South African women at the time.
“Baartman’s time in London in 1810 is as horrifying to modern sensibilities as it was to some of her contemporaries,” the site states. She was displayed under the name “the ‘Hottentot Venus’ because of what was described as ‘the enormous size of her posterior parts.’ This also made her the focus of ribaldry and the subject of many caricature prints.”
As a Black woman, Baartman’s body was hypersexualized to the extent that she was treated more like a spectacle than a human being. Rather than acknowledging her personhood, society viewed her as something to gawk at and ridicule. Even in death, the exploitation continued. After Baartman died at 27 in 1815, anatomist Georges Cuvier dissected her body.
Her remains were later displayed at what became the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, where they remained on view until the 1960s. The objectification of Baartman’s physique echoes the ways in which curvier body types—often associated with Black women—are still scrutinized, policed and commodified without consent. More than two centuries later, Black women’s bodies are still subject to unsolicited opinions, comparisons and commentary.
Black Women’s Discourse on Badu’s Outfit Elaborated
Beyond Instagram, Black women users took to TikTok and X to explain their speculations about Badu’s outfit relating to Baartman.
“Even today, she [Sara Baartman] is a reminder how Black women’s bodies are used, abused, and appropriated. Our feelings, disregarded and our voices unheard. Yet others can adorn our figures, our lips, our hair, our complexions and not be ridiculed and mocked,” TikTok user @mosthighfoods narrated in her video.
“I love that Erykah did this, because whether they loved it or hated it, everyone will now know Sarah’s name and will at least look up who she was. Artists make you think and feel. Erykah did just that!” a user commented under the video. “Proud of Erykah Badu for using her platform to promote education,” another person commented chiming in.
In true Badu fashion, her latest outfit has sparked deep discussion. Many Black women see historical parallels in the exaggerated silhouette. Whether intentional or not, the comparison to Baartman highlights ongoing conversations about the hypervisibility and commodification of Black women’s bodies.
While some interpret Badu’s look as a critique of modern beauty standards, others see it as a reminder of painful histories that still shape the present. As always, Badu has left room for interpretation. Doing so ensures that her artistry continues to provoke thought, challenge norms, and spark necessary dialogue.