Ice-T has explained why he won’t speak out against Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks.
While speaking to AllHipHop for an interview published on Monday, the rapper-turned-actor was asked why he hasn’t made a statement on recent antisemitic remarks perpetuated by Kanye.
“I don’t really have any opinion, and I don’t want to be somebody trying to slander somebody. That’s not fly,” Ice-T explained. “Right now, people want just come out and say s**t. I mean, whatever my view, I like to keep that in private.”
He added, “It’s not gangster to come out and talk about somebody like that.”
The rapper further argued Kanye himself worked as an example - though one may have the right to free speech, you still need to “watch what you say”.
Ice-T concluded, “So, when you say something, you have to be prepared for the ramifications of what you say, and apparently he is.”
Kanye has faced backlash over the last two months for antisemitic comments he’s made online and in interviews. The rapper and Yeezy designer tweeted in October he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”, mis-referencing the United States military term “DEFCON 3”.
Balenciaga, Adidas, and Gap have since cut ties with Kanye, and his ex-girlfriend Julia Fox called herself “delusional” in a TikTok for thinking she could help him during their relationship.