Martin Shkreli’s Ghostface Killah Diss Video Is The Cringiest Thing You’ll See This Week
It’s hard to keep all the reasons that Martin Shkreli is one of the most hated men in America straight, but a new video tearing down Ghostface Killah for his pushback over Wu-Tang Clan’s (perhaps forever) disappeared album might be the only one you need this week.
On Thursday, Martin amped up his battle against Ghostface Killah by releasing a video that attacked both the rapper’s career and integrity. Shkreli went deep — saying that he would only refer to the Wu-Tang Clan member by his “government name” Dennis — as he does, somewhat inconsistently, throughout the rest of the video.
Martin’s video has much of the characteristic bravado that has marked his interviews and public appearances after he gained fame as the “Pharma Bro” for raising prices on a life-saving AIDS drug last year. Not content with enraging just one market, Shkreli took a swerve from prescription dominance to rhyme control when he purchased Wu-Tang Clan’s exclusive, single-copy album Once Upon a Time In Shaolin. Ghostface Killah and RZA have both spoken out about having no previous knowledge of who Martin was before signing the deal, and both also deny that they would have let it go through had they been aware of who they were dealing with.
Which is what brings Shkreli’s latest tone-deaf show of his lack of self-awareness to the forefront. In the video, Martin calls out Ghostface Killah for daring to bite back about the sale of the Wu-Tang album. As usual, Shkreli wants to make sure that his target knows that he “owns” them, that money has made him — a frankly unimposing figure — the one with the power.
“For whatever reason, you think it’s okay to beef with me, but that’s a big mistake. At the end of the day, I’m very sorry for you. You’re an old man that’s lost his relevance, and you’re trying to reclaim the spotlight from my spotlight… If you ever say dumb s**t again… I’m going to erase all your s**t from this album.. you’re my son, you have to listen to me. I butter your bread. Without me, you’re nothing.”
The most painful part of watching Shkreli’s video is the realization of just how little he’s able to see how he looks to outsiders. It’s clear Martin feels very tough surrounded by a group of masked men who have clearly been selected for their ability to give him street cred by association — a move that’s as transparent as it is ineffective. He’s snatched them up as puppets in his beef with Ghostface Killah, and he seems to have absolutely no qualms with openly threatening the Wu-Tang Clan rapper with his Insane Clown Posse-looking backers in tow.
It’s a scene that illustrates why Shkreli always seems to come off so weak despite bolstering himself with power and money in any way imaginable. In the TMZ video where Ghostface Killah slammed Martin a few days ago, he’s laughing it off. It’s clear he doesn’t take what Shkreli has to say seriously, and that’s the exact opposite of the Pharma Bro’s reaction; his public image, and by extension his ego, are worth defending, even if he ends up looking foolish in the process.
Unfortunately, the concept of humiliation seems to be far from Martin Shkreli’s radar. Absolutely everyone is laughing at him and not Ghostface Killah or the Wu-Tang Clan here, and it doesn’t matter how caustic of a diss video he creates. No matter how many consumers he screws over, Martin still can’t buy the chill he so desperately reaches for.
[Image via Craig Ruttle/AP Images and Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]
