Lil Wayne Sorry For Dissing ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Blames ‘Nightline’ Interviewer For Rant
Rapper Lil Wayne took back his comments against Black Lives Matter (BLM), a movement which aims to advance the rights of African-Americans in the United States.
In an interview with TMZ, Wayne claimed that he was already disconcerted when he was asked for his comments regarding BLM, and that in hindsight, what he said was wrong.
“When the reporter began asking me questions about my daughter being labeled a b—- and a h–, I got agitated,” he said. “From there, there was no thought put into her questions and my responses.”
“Apologies to anyone who was offended,” he added.
#LilWayne apologized for #BlackLivesMatter comments. Blamed it on questions about his daughter & rap lyrics https://t.co/p8hYA3Ck6b pic.twitter.com/udvDB9Z8u9
— The Root (@TheRoot) November 2, 2016
Black Lives Matter was formed out of the spontaneous anger to the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the succeeding acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman. The movement tries to bring attention to the dehumanization of African-Americans and the continued racism in the country through protest.
First interviewed by ABC’s Nightline, Wayne was asked about his reaction to BLM and he said that the movement “just sounds weird.”
“I don’t know that you put a name on…,” he ranted. “It’s not a name; it’s not whatever, whatever. It’s somebody got shot by a police for a f—– up reason.
I am a young, black, rich m———–. If that don’t let you know that America understand black s—- matter these days, I don’t know what it is. Don’t come at me with that dumb s—, man. My life matters, especially to my b——.”
Linsey Davis, who was conducting the interview, followed up by asking if Wayne separated himself from the movement.
“I don’t feel connected to a damn thing that ain’t got nothing to do with me,” he said. “I’m connected to this f—— flag right here (pulling out a red bandana). I’m a gangbanger, man. I’m connected,” he added.
Lil Wayne says he doesn’t feel connected to Black Lives Matter movement. Watch tonight on Nightline at 12:35am ET. pic.twitter.com/28eBGfpSja
— Nightline (@Nightline) November 2, 2016
A gangbanger refers to a person who belongs to a gang, although the slang term can also be used as an insult if it refers to a coward who needs the protection of a gang as a source of courage. For a long time, Wayne was rumored to be associated with the Bloods gang, but this has not been confirmed.
The rapper’s latest tirade is consistent with thoughts he has expressed before. When prodded to comment about BLM in ESPN’s “Undisputed,” he replied, “That whole wave just went right by me, way too fast to even give an opinion, so I was just like, ‘Oh, okay, that’s what’s happening.'”
To be fair to the rapper, Davis did ask him, prior to the question about BLM, if he would have any problem with his daughter being called the same vulgar and misogynistic terms he uses in most of his songs. He replied that he would have a “huge problem” with that, but insisted that he never called a “certain female by that name” unless he had a “real big problem with her.”
The rapper’s views about BLM were hardly surprising considering that he was once quoted as saying “there’s no such thing as racism.” In fact, he added that most of his fans are white.
When asked by Nightline if he would change this statement, the rapper said he wouldn’t.
“I don’t think I got to express this, but it’s who you are. You get treated accordingly,” he said. “I don’t know nothing about that, what they’re talking about. I’m rich as f—. Man, don’t get mad ’cause I’m rich and I don’t see none of that.”
[Featured Image by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images]
