Phylicia Rashad Says Gen Z Women No Longer Dress With ‘Grace’

Online fans of The Breakfast Club had mixed responses to Rashad's comments about young women's style.

Phylicia Rashad, 76-year-old actress and singer, sat down on The Breakfast Club on March 20 and slammed the way Gen Z young women dress today. Rashad spoke with DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Loren LoRosa, and Charlamagne Tha God about everything from young people’s style of dress today to acting and the late Chadwick Boseman’s legacy, stirring online discourse.

Charlamagne began in the viral clip, “You came up in an era when dignity and grace was everything. You ever look at how wild Hollywood is now and think to yourself, ‘Boy, y’all got it easy. Y’all wouldn’t ever get away with what we did.’”

Rashad responded, “Well, you have a look at Hollywood, and I’ll look at how young ladies dress.”

“Young ladies are so beautiful; they are so beautiful. And something has happened in popular culture — and I don’t mean to be critical and I hope young ladies listening don’t take it as personal criticism because I don’t mean it that way,” “The Cosby Show” alum added.

“You’re young queens. I’m taken aback when I see on a college campus young women dressed in strips of clothing. But more importantly than that, no man wants his woman to be out like that, right?” Rashad asked rhetorically.

Charlamagne agreed and referenced a Method Man lyric: “Wearing three-fourths of clothes never showing your stuff off. Leave something to the imagination. Something for my eyes only.”

Rashad agreed that young people can still look sexy while covering up and stated that it would “be nice” if more Gen Z women dressed that way.

The viral clip of Rashad on The Breakfast Club was reposted to The Shade Room, and the comment section beneath the post blew up with discourse about her comments.

One user supported her sentiment, writing, “ELEGANCE & CLASS are so underrated nowadays. Phylicia Rashad embodied all of that,” another wrote. “I remember being a child and I couldn’t wait to get old enough to carry a briefcase and wear power suits to work because of watching ATTORNEY CLAIRE HUXTABLE. She exuded so much beauty!”

Others expressed their discontent with the way Rashad slammed young women. One user reminded commenters that Rashad “also defended Bill Cosby so I would tread lightly. The narrative of women centering their decisions around men’s approval is so tired. That’s why I’m glad the new generation is moving away from it.”

Another pointed out that the age gap between baby boomers like Rashad and Gen Z has led to a disconnect in fashion trends and that clothing items don’t seem to change how women are treated in the community.

“That generation was covered and still got abused and treated horribly…… one day as a community we’re gonna address the real issue but I digress.”