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Suge Knight Would Rather Be Called the N-Word Than African-American

Suge Knight doesn't want to be called African American Suge Knight has many people in shock after he spoke to a TMZ cameraman and claimed he would rather be called the N-word than African-American because he’s not from Africa.

The famous record producer broke down his stance on the use of the N-word saying that if one group of people is allowed to use it, then everyone should be allowed to use it , as long as it’s not being used in a derogatory fashion.

According to Knight, “It depends on how you say ’n***a’ or what you doing with it.”

While that statement itself is pretty controversial, it had nothing on what Knight said next.

“I like [the N-word] better than ‘African-American.’ We not from Africa,” he said. “We’re black. Even Africans don’t call each other Africans in Africa.”

Needless to say, the term African-American refers to a person’s ancestry,  and in the case of most Black people, that does stem from Africa.

Despite how outlandish the comment was, however, Knight is just the latest celebrity to spark a much-needed conversation on the use of the N-word.

The use of the N-word has been an incredibly hot topic this year, especially after celebrity chef Paula Deen watched her culinary empire fall apart after she admitted to using the N-word in the past.

The conversation has pretty much been split between three sides: those who feel that the word should never be used by anyone; those who feel that the word should be used by everybody; and those who feel that only Blacks should be able to use it.

Suge Knight defends use of the N-word Oprah Winfrey made her feelings on the subject very clear in July as she explained that the N-word shouldn’t be a part of anyone’s vocabulary.

“It shows my age, but I feel strongly about [the N-word]… I always think of the millions of people who heard that as their last word as they were hanging from a tree,” she said.

Lee Daniels, the director of the movie “The Butler” admitted that he used the word until Oprah had a candid conversation with him about why she felt so strongly about not using it.

Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal told Access Hollywood that he didn’t think the word was appropriate, although he had used it recently in one of his own songs.

R&B songstress Ciara seemed to agree with Suge Knight’s point of view as she claimed that the word is OK, depending on how it is being used.

“As an entertainer you have fun and it’s all about the context it’s used in,” Ciara told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush. “I am an African-American woman, so I can identify with that word in different ways. It’s all about the context and in my case, I know I can have fun because I know where I’m coming from with it.”

Fashion Police host, Joan Rivers, even went on a rant saying that we should accept all the racial slurs and get over their dark origins.

“Everybody is either a w**, a n****r, a k*ke, a ch**k, a fairy, a m**k… everybody’s something, so why don’t we all just calm down,” she said during a rant in November. “Be thankful that we’re all living in America and stop everybody getting so damn uptight.”

The real question remains the same, however. Why are any of these racial slurs and derogatory terms becoming the norm?  Since when is it OK to use such terms for the sake of a joke or a good laugh?

Listen to Suge Knight’s comment in full below:

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