Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith expressed his feelings about Kanye West’s recent comments about slavery on ESPN’s First Take Friday.
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“That is the most ignorant thing that I’ve ever heard come out of the mouth of an African-American. It is disgraceful, it is abhorrent, it is repulsive, it’s an insult to our ancestors, what this man said, to imply, to state matter of factually that ancestors who were raped, maimed, murdered, that that was by choice is one of, if not the greatest insult to black people that I have ever heard come out of the mouth of a black person.”
On Tuesday, Kanye West appeared on TMZ live and said, “You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”
The comment immediately sparked controversy.
A black TMZ employee, Van Lathan, who Smith references in the segment, stood up to West and expressed his frustration with the rapper’s comments about slavery.
Kathan said to West, “We have to deal with the marginalization that has come from the 400 years of slavery that you said, for our people, was a choice.”
Hosts Shay Shay and BiGG of 105.1 the Morning Bounce in Detroit decided to ban all of West’s music, even though he is one of the most prominently featured artists on their show.