XYZ negated detach.

Hi,

I saw a video of a person going to locals, and he was using K9 ripper,

His ripper was negated but he stated that he was still able to detach a material,

So my when I brought this to my friend, who plays blue eyes, he stated that “it’s the same for spirit with eyes of blue” , in that if it’s negated then he can still tribute it off

Can someone explain the process to me and state if they are correct or incorrect

Thanks in advance.