Kanye West is getting trashed by his celebrity peers including 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, T.I., and more following his first campaign rally.
Kanye West is at it again, but this time with a presidential campaign that could potentially have history-altering repercussions. At his first campaign event in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, West ranted about a wide range of topics, often throwing out claims and ideas that were far from anything rooted in reality. Videos of the speech have been more than cringe-worthy, and even some of those in attendance felt the need to walk out. One particularly offensive remark came when ‘Ye decided to discredit abolitionist hero Harriet Tubman.
Kanye announced his theory that Tubman “never actually freed the slaves,” but instead, “just had the slaves go work for other white people.”
Kanye West infamously stated that he feels slavery in America was more “like a choice” than centuries of racially targeted imprisonment and abuse, so it is not that much of a surprise that he was a problematic understanding of historical figures. However, some people, including attendees who left the rally early, believed the comment was motivated by a sexist resistance to giving Black women the credit they deserve. Other celebs spoke up in opposition to the offensive remarks, showing their admiration for Tubman on social media.
Taking to Instagram shortly after the event, Snoop Dogg posted a picture of the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, writing, “Thank u queen harriet.” Snoop went on to tag Kanye, captioning the post, “@jesusisking for u brother.”
50 Cent blames Jay-Z for Kanye West’s latest behavior. “What the f*** did he just say. This is all Jay z fault, kanye’s first Rally. LOL,” 50 wrote.
Many others combatted the misinformation with facts about Harriet’s life, including the Instagram account of Harriet’s Bookshop in Philadelphia, which posted, “Yo @kanyewest best to do your research before talking about #HarrietTubman! She was not only freeing folks, but she was training them to be entrepreneurs. You’d probably know that if you copped her biography.” Radio personality Ebro Darden posted to his Instagram about the comments as well, writing, “#HarrietTubman freed slaves from bondage. Legend. Warrior.”
T.I. let Kanye know that he is going too far following his statement about Tubman, “Nahhhh WE Can’t let you do that Ye’…. What WE NOT gon do is slander nor disrespect the legacy of our heroic Queen Harriet Tubman by telling falsities in an attempt to discredit the contributions she made to LIBERATE OUR PEOPLE??” TIP wrote.
