Lil Wayne found himself back in the hot seat after an interview where he proclaimed he doesn’t feel connected to Black Lives Matter.
While speaking to ABC’s Nightline Tuesday night, the rapper acknowledged the issue with a person “getting shot by the police for a f—– up reason.” However, he went on to discuss his own clout and then dismissed the BLM movement.
“I am a rich m—–f—– n—–,” Wayne said. “If that don’t tell you Black lives matter these days, I don’t know what it is.”
The 34-year-old performer – who stopped by to promote his prison memoir, Gone ‘Til November – continued to dismiss BLM.
“I don’t feel connected to a damn thing that ain’t got nothing to do with me. If you do, you crazy as s—,” he said. “It ain’t got nothing to do with me, I ain’t connected to it.”
On Twitter, fans lashed out at Lil’ Wayne for his remarks.
Unequivocal Focus wondered who allowed the rapper to speak on Nightline. “[It] made us look so bad,” she added.
Who would LET #Lilwayne do an interview on #nightline? Who thought that would've been okay? Made us look so bad….
— Unequivocal Focus♌ (@iadmireureffort) November 2, 2016
@JamelMelly called Wayne a hypocrite for proclaiming, “Black lives matter!” during a Tidal concert in August.
Lmaooooooo hypocrite RT @FineAssBlackWmn: @Nightline Was this not Lil Wayne in August? I'm confused https://t.co/IjYSFHUxrD
— Jamelmel (@JamelMelly) November 2, 2016
NanoNano took a humorous approach, tweeting the rapper went from Black to white after his rant.
https://twitter.com/NANOJEFE/status/793756351193309185
Similarly, ruqayah dismantled Weezy’s comments by tweeting a photo from FX’s “Atlanta” of a Black man who believes he is white.
interviewer: so do black lives matter ? does it AFFECT you?
lil Wayne: pic.twitter.com/x0LmGsXqEs— jorja smith rowe 🇵🇸 (@supitsrikki) November 2, 2016
However, at least one person supported Wayne distancing himself from the BLM movement.
@TheKroosTeam pointed to George Soros, co-creator of the Democratic Alliance, which sought to fund the grassroots movement last year. At the time, Atlanta Black Star reported that issues could arise from mega corporations providing cash to the organization dedicated to ceasing harm committed on Blacks. Problems include lost control of how their goals are met.
https://twitter.com/TheKroosTeam/status/793757976364548096
Still, Eisaan was unsurprised by the rapper’s remarks.
https://twitter.com/Mefied/status/793699547121913856
Regardless of the critiques, Wayne’s comments come weeks after he maintained his thoughts on the movement spurred by the death of unarmed Black teen Trayvon Martin.
Last month, the entertainer told The New York Times, “I’ve got all kind of color lives mattering up in here – green, all kinds of stuff mattering.”
The statement falls in line with the “all lives matter” view. It is a phrase that dismisses the oppression of Black people to promote a colorblind perspective.