Rapper T.I. unloaded on black celebrities who met with Donald Trump after the election, saying they failed to challenge the president for disrespecting and degrading black voters during the campaign.
The Atlanta–based artist told the co-hosts of The View Thursday that he took issue with talk show host Steve Harvey, rapper-producer Kanye West, and football Hall of Famer and civil rights champion Jim Brown meeting with Trump.
“Before you stand and smile and say this is a good man and take pictures, what about addressing the disrespect and disregard for our community that was done?” T.I. said, adding “And what about him being the poster child for white supremacy and standing for the people who look to devalue our lives?”
The Grammy-winning star of the VH1 reality show T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle also defended fellow rapper Snoop Dogg, who recently starred in a politically-charged music video that sees the “Doggystyle” rapper pull a gun on and “shoot” a parody clown version of President Donald Trump.
“Whatever Snoop said, he had the right to say. He’s protected by the Constitution in saying it,” T.I. said. “We have to protect our legends. We have to protect our heroes and the people who mean something to us and our community and our culture.”
The View co-host Sunny Hostin suggested that Trump advisor Omarosa Manigault has stated the administration’s intention to “bridge the gap” between the White House and the black community, to which T.I. responded with a personal insult.
“She can’t even bridge the gap in her teeth,” the rapper said.
T.I. had originally defended Snoop Dogg and his controversial video in an Instagram message, calling Trump a “f*cking tangerine tanned muskrat scrotum skin, lacefront possum fur wig wearing, alternative fact, atomic dog diarrhea face ass man [sic].”
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