“I’m so sorry.”
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Note: This article contains coarse language that may offend or disturb some readers.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar is facing intense criticism — even from famed entertainer Whoopi Goldberg — for rebuking a fan he called onto the stage Sunday after she sang the N-word, a word he wrote into his own song.
On Sunday, Lamar called a fan named Delaney onto the stage during his concert in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Delaney started singing along with Lamar, even when he started rapping the N-word-ladden chorus of his song, “M. A. D. City.”
OMG Kendrick Lamar stopping his concert to call out a white fan for rapping the n-word in Alabama is everything I’ve ever dreamed of pic.twitter.com/E4ZVMiClGl
— Joseph Lamour (@lamour) May 21,2018
When Lamar first scolded the fan, who is white, he praised another concertgoer who “kinda knew the rules a little bit,” telling Delaney, “You gotta bleep one single word, though,” referring to the N-word.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Delaney repeatedly apologized. “Did I do it?”
“Yeah, you did it,” Lamar shot back.
Again, Delaney, clearly embarrassed, apologized, “I’m so sorry.”
Then the rapper turned to the crowd to ask if he should allow Delaney to remain on the stage. The audience’s response was a blend of cheers and boos.
“No, please keep me up here,” Delaney pleaded. “I’ll try my hardest. I’m used to singing it like you wrote it.”
Goldberg, the lead co-host on ABC’s “The View,” seemed to agree with Delaney.
“I don’t think he should have [called her out],” Goldberg said. “Don’t put it in if you don’t want people to sing it.”
Co-host Joy Behar said Lamar’s actions were “almost like a setup for the poor girl,” noting she “felt sorry” for Delaney. Behar went on to criticize Lamar for calling the fan out in the middle of the song.
“[Lamar] has a song called ‘B***h, Don’t Kill My Vibe,'” Behar later noted. ”[T]he word ‘b***h’ is in that. Maybe it’s inappropriate for him to say that.”
Ultimately, co-host Sunny Hostin weighed in on the N-word, telling the audience, “I think we need to retire the word.”
Tré Goins-Phillips is a writer for IJR operating out of Lynchburg, Virginia. After graduating from Liberty University, where he served as the opinion… more
