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Joy Reid Asks If the Starbucks Incident Would Have Been Worse If the Men Were Carrying, Killer Mike Has An Answer

Posted byBy Tanasia Kenney | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

After the airing of a controversial interview with the National Rifle Association last month, rapper Killer Mike faced severe backlash for speaking out in favor of gun ownership while blasting the student-led March for Our Lives campaign against gun violence.

Mike has since apologized, saying the video was “used in the wrong way.” Now, the rapper says he is looking to have a meaningful discussion about the importance of gun ownership among African-Americans.

On Sunday, Mike faced MSNBC’s Joy Reid for the first time since their social media spat and apologized again for his remarks where he slammed the journalist for what he perceived as her vocal support for embattled clothing store H&M. Their dialogue soon turned to the NRA, who Reid accused of targeting her in one of its past campaigns.

“When an organization that’s all about guns starts tweeting out, we’re watching you, I take that as a threat honestly,” she said, later asking the rapper, “…Do you recognize sort of the sense that a lot of us out here have that the NRA is actually low-key threatening, particularly to people of color?”

Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, responded by saying, “I think that we have been threatened as people of color since we were brought here.”

“For me as deplorable as acts that I’ve seen on both sides, people who are pro and not pro guns, my bigger conversation, Joy, is the conversation that we are having about where do African-Americans fit in that,” the activist added. “I am sorry that that happened to you. I am sorry that I get death threats and have to walk around with a body guard … But I feel better that I live in a republic where people only 54 years into freedom are now allowed to protect their Second Amendment right and protect [themselves] as need to be.”

Reid also took time to ask Mike his thoughts on the recent arrest of two Black men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia over the weekend, an incident that has since sparked calls for a boycott of the popular coffee chain. The two men, who were are real estate agents, said they were waiting on a friend at the coffee shop when one of the employees called the police on them for “trespassing.”

“I’m going to tell you what struck me about that video,” Mike said. “White people stood up and immediately were allies, thank you guys for that. But the black men are to be congratulated and saluted. They showed themselves dignified, regaled in that arrest. They actually kept the situation calm by not raising voice, by not hiding hands.”

Despite Mike and Reid moving beyond their spat, fans were none too pleased he was invited or his response to the aforementioned question.

Thankfully, some were willing to give Mike a second chance.

Watch more of their discussion below.

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