His viral exchange in the TMZ offices with Kanye West remains an unforgettable pop culture moment. It was the incident that launched the “slavery was a choice” outrage and Van Lathan took the opportunity to call out the rapper for his comments. Kanye has made several eyebrow-raising remarks over the years and in an interview with VladTV, Lathan explains why “free speech” isn’t what West is truly advocating for.
Lathan said he has come to a “place of peace” when it comes to West, adding that he digs through “the sh*t” it all to find the jewels. He praised Kanye for being a talented visionary, but even with that comes controversy that shouldn’t be ignored.
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“Some things have to do with the perception he has of himself. There are some things that have to do with how people treat him,” said Lathan. He mentioned West’s recent Drink Champs interview, dismissing West’s rants about his peers like Big Sean and Talib Kweli, and noting that many times during the discussion, West spoke about not feeling accepted among social circles throughout his life.
After complimenting West’s abilities to withstand obstacles in industries that would not give him an opportunity to shine, Lathan expressed why he still has an issue with the Rap mogul.
“Kanye talks about free speech, right? He talks about the fact that he should be able to say whatever he wants to say, and that’s true,” said Lathan. “But he doesn’t seem to like other people’s free speech very much… Kanye doesn’t want free speech. What he actually wants is white speech.” He explained that “white speech” means “saying whatever you want to say and there being absolutely zero repercussions for you saying it.”
“That is how white people used to run America and talk to Black people in the days of old.” Watch Lathan detail his views below and let us know if you agree with him.