The REAL Betty Boop Was A Black Woman!

Forgotten by history and singing style stolen by white woman who claimed it was hers!

Betty Boop, a powerful symbol of carefree, unashamed sexuality. She is an image molded from the free and easy Flapper Era with all its energetic vices. Everybody knows Betty Boop but very little of us have heard about Baby Esther, the talented black singer who inspired Betty Boop.

Baby Esther, or Esther Jones, had an enchanting, childish voice that brought throngs of jazz-loving visitors to the Cotton Club in Harlem. Her singing voice was flirtatious, lyrical and according to the audience, had a siren-ring to it. Betty Boop’s character imitated the baby-like, seductive voice that Esther used in her performances. Baby Esther signature song Boop-oop-a-doo, was an instant hit in New York. This phrase inspired the name, “Betty Boop.”

Unfortunately, she had been forgotten by history and Helen Kane furthered pushed Baby Esther into the shadows by falsely claiming to have invented the baby-like singing style and famous catch phrase, Boop-oop-a-doo. In reality, Helen Kane had regularly seen Baby Esther performances in the Cotton Club and copied her technique of singing. This was confirmed by Lou Bolton, Baby Esther manager, who went to see her performances accompanied by Helen Kane.