S. Samuel
Despite the media and celebrity craze over planking, West Coast rapper Xzibit has come forward to speak out on the trend, labeling it as the "dumbest sh*t ever."
Unleashing his fury on Twitter, X to the Z voiced his displeasure in planking.
“Planking is THE dumbest sh*t ever,” he tweeted July 6th.
“#Planking was a way to transport slaves on ships during the slave trade, its not funny. Educate yourselves.”
“Dont get it twisted. I care less where your dumb a**es lay face down and take pictures of the sh*t, I’m just telling you where it came from.”
“I’m having a full blown town meeting with people trying to defend planking. Lol. I wish this was about something important.” (Xzibit’s Twitter)
This week, the Washington Post ran a piece suggesting planking could relate to slavery.
But the term does have a connection to the slave trade, said Marcus Rediker, a professor of Atlantic history at the University of Pittsburgh and author of “The Slave Ship: A Human History.” “To plank” was not necessarily a verb used by slave ship merchants and captains, Rediker said in an e-mail. But the planks “of the lower deck are precisely where millions of Africans were forced to lie and sleep on the Middle Passage, in conditions of utter horror that defy description,” he said. (Washington Post)
In addition to musicians like Justin Bieber and Chris Brown, the trend has even taken over Hollywood.
Rosario Dawson, bless her, might have outdone her famous planking co-horts, having shown her skills now on both “Chelsea Lately” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” while promoting her new movie “The Zookeeper.” She even planked on an elephant. “I just discovered it last week,” Dawson told Chelsea Handler while on her show. “You lay face down and you have your hands at your sides and you point your toes.” (All Headline News)
The planking trend reportedly started in the 1990’s.
The trick was allegedly started by two Australian men 14 years ago. Gary Clarkson and Christian Langdon performed in public places. With the amusement of onlookers catching on, in 2007 a Facebook group was created and, years later, planking has become a phenomenon. (BET)
Check out celebrities planking below:
