DJ Envy, a co-host on 105.9’s “The Breakfast Club,” is addressing his critics after facing backlash for seemingly defending the police officer who shot and killed Columbus, Ohio, teen Ma’Khia Bryant earlier this month.
During a discussion with news outlet Page Six, the morning show host addressed the scandal while sharing his views on “cancel culture.” “I understand people are upset, and they have the right to be,” the media personality expressed. “But what I don’t like is this cancel culture, when they try to cancel somebody for an opinion.”
Earlier this week, DJ Envy’s opinions landed him in hot water following an interview with co-host Charlamagne Tha God and their special guest psychologist and “Prince of Pan-Africanism” activist Dr. Umar Johnson. On the Monday, April 26, episode DJ Envy shocked listeners of the show when he suggested that officer Nicholas Reardon was justified in shooting the 16-year-old teenager.
On Tuesday, April 20, officer Reardon shot Bryant — who had been wielding a knife at a woman at the time — several times within seconds after arriving on the scene, where he responded to a call about an attempted stabbing at a residence.
DJ Envy garnered intense criticism after telling Dr. Umar that he disagreed with his views on the incident. “This situation, my only thing is this, and you’re talking to somebody whose father is a retired cop, all right? Now, when that cop pulled up, he doesn’t know friend or foe. He doesn’t know who called the police,” he said at the time.
DJ Envy told Page Six, “The whole situation is tragic, and it’s sad because that system failed that young lady.” Still, he continued to defend officer Reardon’s actions, saying, “The fact that she’s out there fighting at 16 with a grown woman. The fact that the older man seen in the video would rather kick the girl on the ground and join the fight instead of stopping the fight, all these things come together, and the system failed that girl, and it is sad.”
He added, “Everybody’s saying [the police] shoot first, but he possibly saved that [other girl’s] life … if she would’ve stabbed her, who knows if she would’ve lived. She could have got cut in the throat, in the face, we just don’t know what could happen.”
As for the accusations on social media claiming that he’s a sell-out, DJ Envy said, “It doesn’t hurt me.” He added, “People are mad about what’s going on, and I’m mad and upset as well. But I know who’s on my side and who’s not. I know who tries to help the community and who doesn’t. We sit here and raise money every year for organizations that fight against this. I help our community with financial freedom and learning about buying their own homes and their own investment properties. So people can have financial freedom so they can use their own money.”
