On the Tuesday, Nov. 17 airing of “The Breakfast Club,” the show’s hosts called out Megan Thee Stallion’s PR team for what they consider a disregard of Black media in favor of white-owned outlets.
Charlamagne Tha God and his fellow co-hosts argued that while Megan was rather tight-lipped about the shooting incident with Tory Lanez with the Black press, she was very open about the situation in a recent interview with GQ.
While Megan didn’t get into the specifics of what initiated the incident, she did confirm that Lanez shot her, detailing her shock and disbelief over an act she said was unwarranted. “Like, I never put my hands on nobody,” she said. “I barely even said anything to the man who shot me when I was walking away. We were literally like five minutes away from the house.”
Megan also claimed that after she was shot, Lanez offered her and a friend money to not say anything. She said, “[At this point] I’m really scared, because this is like right in the middle of all the protesting. Police are just killing everybody for no reason, and I’m thinking, ‘I can’t believe you even think I want to take some money. Like, you just shot me.’ ”
When it came to “The Breakfast Club,” however, all things pertaining to the shooting were strictly off-limits, according to Charlamagne. “Meg was supposed to be here this week but they had a long laundry list of things she couldn’t talk about and it was all Tory Lanez and related to that situation,” said Charlamagne.
DJ Envy added that it was a bit unfair considering “The Breakfast Club” and other Black outlets were some of the first media that supported Megan from the beginning, despite getting their access restricted as soon as she obtained widespread fame.
“Yeah, I think it’s crazy because when she does white publications she’s able to talk and talk about everything that she wants to talk about but when she goes to the Black press and Black publications, there’s a list that the label sends out. You know, ‘Don’t ask her about this. Don’t talk about this. Don’t talk about that,’ ” said DJ Envy.
“But we’re the ones that support her and hold her down and play her music and talk about all the good things that she does and go through all that stuff…it’s just weird when they do that.”
Angela Yee noted that with her likely massive roster of handlers arranging everything, Megan probably did not know about what was occurring or condone it.
“Now we also don’t know sometimes if it’s the artist sending that list out or if it’s the label and representation saying that,” Yee said. “A lot of times artists don’t even know they’re like what did they tell you I couldn’t talk about?”
Charlamagne agreed, but still expressed his disappointment over what Charlamagne described as uneven treatment, with DJ Envy co-signing on that sentiment.
“It’s foul,” Envy said. “Because when she was coming up and she was a new artist, we were the ones supporting her before any white publication even knew who she was.”
Charlamagne wished Megan well on her debut album, “Good News,” but made it clear that he was displeased about what he felt was a clear bias against Black professionals in his industry.
This is not the first time Black celebrities have been accused of shunning Black media
Back in January, at the 2020 Grammy Awards, BlackTree Media, a Los Angeles outlet, created a video montage revealing how major Black celebrities would shirk the Black press on the red carpet.
The video montage displays a group of Black journalists calling out for interviews with artists such as Gucci Mane, Quavo of the Migos, H.E.R., Questlove, Lil Nas X and Rick Ross. Rapper Gunna did stop before being hurried away by his publicist, according to the video produced by BlackTree.
BlackTree CEO David Finkley has spoken publicly, according to Blavity, about what he sees as a problem with the publicists, as well as with the talent who “make conscious efforts or lack of effort to take time to speak to the few Black-owned media.”
In an interview with Rolling Out, Finkley said he believes there are a number of reasons members of the Black press are ignored on the red carpet and elsewhere.
“I’ve heard often that some publicists say it reduces their brand. If somebody is on their Oscar [or] Grammy campaign, their publicist will steer them away from niche markets and just push them to “global” brands. Now, I am sure you can see who gets lumped where.
However, he doesn’t let the celebrities get off scot-free in their responsibility to the problem.
“Even after all of this, the talent has the last say in who they speak to or don’t speak to. And that is what I wanted this video to show.”
When asked what can be done to remedy the situation, Finkley said that speaking up is key to changing the systematic behavior and instilling equality within their profession.
“I know how it is to feel like you will get Colin “Kaepernicked” [and] blackballed. I already have and from this video going viral, I wouldn’t be surprised if I am not invited back to a number of award shows,” he said.
“I’m willing to take one for the team if the behavior changes for my colleagues. What artists [and] publicists have to realize is that [the livelihoods of] these people working the carpets, doing the interviews, depend on their performance. When you don’t give them a shot, you might’ve prematurely ended their career. And we need more of us out there. End of the day, that’s the mission.”
