Courtesy Photo: Apple
Lil Nas X has issued a firmly worded response to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who stated in a recent segment that the rapper “helped incite” riots by encouraging his Twitter followers to donate to bail groups throughout the United States.
The controversy unfolded after Lil Nas X, like an array of other music industry figures, donated to organizations that specialize in covering bail costs for in-need persons – besides encouraging his followers to do the same.
In the cited segment, Tucker Carlson highlighted some of the celebrities and entertainment industry professionals – including Lil Nas X – who gave to and promoted the organizations, claiming that their donations helped “to get violent rioters out of jail.”
Lil Nas X responded to Carlson’s comments in a tweet, writing: “this man just lied and told millions of people on national television that i was inciting riots. you can’t make this up.”
It’s currently unclear whether Lil Nas X will file a defamation lawsuit against Carlson – which a large number of his Twitter followers suggested that he do. “sue him for defamation of character,” one user said.
At the time of this writing, the call for legal action had garnered more than 340 retweets and had received nearly 15,000 likes. Additionally, neither Tucker Carlson nor Fox News had publicly responded to Lil Nas X’s message.
Earlier this week, the 21-year-old rapper took aim at “Black Out Tuesday,” which was conceived and planned by the music industry (though many entertainment professionals ultimately participated).
Specifically, the “Old Town Road” artist voiced his opinion that abstaining from creating new social media posts was having a counterproductive impact on the many protests taking place, tweeting: “i know y’all mean well but… bro saying stop posting for a day is the worst idea ever.
“i just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever. i don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. we don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. we need to spread info and be as loud as ever,” he subsequently elaborated.
Lil Nas X indicated today that he will be participating in protests over the weekend.
Dude, why you wanting people to bail out criminals? What is wrong with you, homie? Tucker was right. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Who is bailing out criminals? Anyone that was peacefully protesting should be bailed out. Anyone looting or vandalizing should rot. Those are two very different things.
oh…
America would be a much better place without the black people!
This means a lot coming from a privileged weirdo who hikes the Hershey Highway everyday.
Paul, We rely on DMN every weekday morning for the last umpteen years for news on the business that love. You’ve always been quite reliable with your facts and a wonderful news source. The problem I have with this story is the source material. Instead of playing the actual segment, which is readily available from Fox, an edited version of it from a user’s Twitter feed was used. This changed the context of the report. C’mon Paul, we’re counting on you guys to give us reliable information.