Enrichment Arts & Culture

Jay-Z blasts cancel culture

Story at a glance

  • “You can’t give someone a microphone for 24 hours a day and [have them] not think they have to use it,” Jay-Z said in an interview with The Sunday Times Style.
  • The outlet noted the rapper seemed to “feel a bit sorry for the younger stars coming up today.”
  • “These kids, it’s unbelievable. Imagine having a microphone and you’re asked about social justice questions at 18 years old? It’s like, ‘What? I’m meant to know the answer, and if I don’t answer the correct way, if I don’t say everything right, even if my intentions are right, and I don’t say the same right thing, it’s going to be everywhere,” he said.

Rap superstar Jay-Z is weighing in on the internet’s cancel culture and says he believes it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. 

In an interview this week with The Sunday Times Style, the rapper was asked if he were 20 years younger and just starting out in the music industry if he would use social media more frequently, in which he immediately responded “No.” Jay-Z, 51, appears to only have a Twitter account and uses it rarely. 


America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.


When asked if he thought cancel culture may end anytime soon, Jay-Z said no.

“You can’t give someone a microphone for 24 hours a day and [have them] not think they have to use it,” Jay-Z told the outlet, which noted the rapper seemed to “feel a bit sorry for the younger stars coming up today.” 

“These kids, it’s unbelievable. Imagine having a microphone and you’re asked about social justice questions at 18 years old? It’s like, ‘What? I’m meant to know the answer, and if I don’t answer the correct way, if I don’t say everything right, even if my intentions are right, and I don’t say the same right thing, it’s going to be everywhere,” he said during the interview. 

The Grammy-award winner’s comments come amid a growing national debate over cancel culture, the phenomenon of withdrawing support from public figures, celebrities, brands and businesses due to what some may consider to be offensive or problematic comments or ideologies. 

In a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, 64 percent of respondents said there is a “growing cancel culture” that is a threat to their freedom, while 36 percent said they did not view it as a threat to their freedom. 


READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA

‘JEOPARDY’ ERUPTS IN CONTROVERSY AFTER WINNER ALLEGEDLY FLASHES WHITE POWER SIGN

CHADWICK BOSEMAN’S FAMILY DEFENDS ANTHONY HOPKINS AFTER OSCARS BACKLASH

PLAYERS STOP PRO SOCCER GAME SO MUSLIM PLAYER CAN END HIS RAMADAN FAST

CHADWICK BOSEMAN’S SHOCKING OSCAR LOSS TO ANTHONY HOPKINS SPARKS BACKLASH

CULTURAL PRESSURES RUNNING HIGH AS MARTIN SCORSESE STARTS FILMING ‘KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’

MARVEL INTRODUCES ASIAN SUPERHERO PLAYED BY SIMU LIU, BUT AWKWAFINA’S SUPPORTING ROLE STIRS BACKLASH

SNAPSHOTS OF HARRY STYLES DRESSED AS ARIEL FROM ‘THE LITTLE MERMAID’ GO VIRAL


 


Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.