LL Cool J responded to criticism about misogyny in rap, especially the earlier stuff, and said simply if people don’t like it they “do not have to listen.”
It happened Tuesday during the 51-year-old performers appearance on ‘The View” when Joy Behar asked what his reaction was to the criticism of misogyny in rap while mentioning the rapper’s past quote questioning how people could look “back and rewrite America’s history.'” (RELATED: Joy Behar: Female Trump Voters Don’t Know The Difference Between A Predator And A Protector)
“Are we going to erase all the music?'” she added, repeating the rapper’s quote. “So is there anything to be done about this whole situation? Are you seeing it in any new way? Tell us.” (RELATED: Meghan McCain Blasts Hollywood ‘Sex Strike’ For Telling Women To ‘Use Their Bodies As Bargaining Chips’)
“You can’t,” the actor explained. “I got to tell you, the real answer is that art is art and that you really do not have to listen. You really don’t.”
“Because you look at the sculpture of David, right, there are people out there that are offended by nudity,'” he added. “Yeah. Should we throw a tarp over it?”
The “Mama Said Knock You Out” hitmaker continued, “I mean, people, like, at the end of the day I’m not suggesting that people don’t have a right to feel a certain way about certain lyrics because that’s okay.”
“You have that right and you have the right to raise your children the way you want, to instill the values in your family that you wish to instill in your family,” the “NCIS: Los Angeles” star explained. “But that being said, you have to give the artists the right to say what they want and you have the right to be offended or not or appreciated.”
“I think that especially in this country, right?” he added. “That’s really what it’s all about, right? It’s the idea that, hey, say what you want — follow the laws but say what you want, create how you want and then we’ll take it from there in terms of judgment.”