Killer Mike apologizes for interview with NRA TV
Rapper Killer Mike has apologized after an interview he did with NRATV was published online, saying the video was misused against the March for Our Lives. In the video, Mike talks about what it means to be a black gun owner and why he is encouraging his daughter to learn how to use a gun. NRATV is the video outlet of the pro-gun lobbying and advocacy group, the National Rifle Association.
NRATV opens the video with host Colion Noir asking a rhetorical question to protesters: "What are you really marching for? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like a march to burn the Constitution and rewrite the parts you don't like in crayon. No one can point this out better than Killer Mike." Noir says Mike can talk about "how guns can solve the problems society faces." In the interview, Mike says that he wants his daughter to get a gun after there was a shooting at her college last year.
On Sunday, the rapper issued a video apology on Twitter saying he regrets that his words were used against the March for Our Lives.
"I sat with people I might not always agree with. ... I did an interview about black gun ownership in this era," he said. "That interview was used a week later by NRATV to disparage a very noble campaign that I actually support. ... I want to say first I'm sorry guys. I do support the March — and I support black people owning guns. It's possible to do both."
Mike said he did the interview to talk about the nuances regarding gun ownership for black people and gun ownership for others.
Mike explained, "We have to always remember that in our allyship we still have to make sure there are certain rights and demands that we make for us in our community."
He addressed protesters and said of the interview, "It should never have been used in contrast to your march and I think it's wrong."
Mike has spoken before about being a member of the NRA, but the rapper is also known for his activism. He spent much of 2016 on the campaign trail working hard for Bernie Sanders as one of the Vermont senator's most vocal and high-profile proxies.
Mike's Run the Jewels partner, El-P, released a statement about the controversy, saying he will continue to work with Mike but wants to "f**king strangle him" for making "bad decisions." He also made it clear that he supports March for Our Lives protesters.
