Method Man Makes Controversial Comments About Ferguson Shooting
Clifford Smith, better known as Method Man, has had an awful lot to say recently about everything from hip-hop magazines to sports star Marcus Mariota. But now Method Man is speaking on Thursday’s shooting in Ferguson, which left two police officers injured.
Hip hop legend @methodman speaks out on the tensions between police and communities: http://t.co/6DPm2tbWrr
— msnbc (@msnbc) March 13, 2015
According to the Washington Times, Method Man appeared on MSNBC to speak with Tamron Hall about the police controversy sweeping the nation from Ferguson to New York. Method Man told Hall that the shooting of the two police officers during a protest rally was “sad, very sad,” and went on to add just who he thought was to blame — the Department of Justice.
Method Man stated, “I hate to say that that [DOJ] report kind of played into this, and these things shouldn’t be happening, but you reap what you sow in a sense. If that [DOJ] report would have never came out and the scandal and how they are basically giving — paying the city by giving people tickets and things like that. That is incredibly insane, but I know we knew this already. This is common knowledge in the ghetto.”
Method Man added his own personal experience to the controversy, stating that he had a friend who was a victim of police brutality when he lived in Staten Island.
Method Man told Hall, “He was actually death by asphyxiation, same as Eric Garner.”
While it may seem that Method Man is quick to point fingers and join the fight, he was also quick to defend some police officers.
Method Man stated, “Some cops, they go above and beyond the call of duty to maybe help someone with the groceries upstairs, things of that nature. They’re community cops. But then you have bad apples, and all bad apples don’t ruin the batch.”
Method Man expanded on how he felt about the police to the Huffington Post, saying, “There were a few of them. They weren’t ball-breakers. These are guys that were from the community, who grew up in Staten Island… A lot of times, what people fail to understand is, the cops are just as afraid as we are to be in those areas.”
Method Man’s comments have some people up in arms. Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly had some strong words for the Wu-Tang Clan member.
Bill O’Reilly tore into Method Man for “colossal ignorance” after he spoke about police discrimination on MSNBC: http://t.co/spT8hzRrr3
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 13, 2015
As seen on Mediaite, O’Reilly stated, “According to Mr. Method Man, because the FBI did an honest investigation, supervised by Attorney General Eric Holder, the two police officers reaped what they sowed?”
O’Reilly went on to refer to Method Man’s statements as “colossal ignorance,” saying that it was statements of this nature that “drives violence.”
While Method Man may have made some controversial remarks, he made a valid point to SI Live when he said, “If we can just get a human level, and police can stay on a human level with the community… If we can just bridge that gap and get those two together… If we can be treated as human beings in our communities, we wouldn’t have any problem with being policed.”
[Photo Courtesy of Kevin Winter/Getty Images ]
