Elon Musk‘s latest political stunt drew the ire of Offset. The X owner supported Ben Shapiro’s campaign to get Derek Chauvin, George Floyd’s killer, pardoned, and the Atlanta rapper was not a fan.
“Racist bi**h playin in black folks faces,” the former Migos member wrote on Instagram. He was so disgusted by Musk’s actions that he declared he was boycotting his popular Tesla vehicles. “Driving Ferrari not Tesla,” the 33-year-old rapper wrote in another comment.
This was sparked by the 53-year-old businessman reposting Shapiro’s video dedicated to Chauvin and writing, “Something to think about.” Shapiro is a conservative political commentator, and Musk holds a lot of influence as a wealthy businessman but also as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. So, those two banding together could cause an increase in support for the movement, not to mention Musk’s relationship with President Donald Trump.
Derek Chauvin grew in infamy for killing George Floyd in 2020, sparking the wave of Black Lives Matter protests all across America amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder. However, Shapiro believes this conviction was unjust and wrote a letter to Donald Trump expressing those feelings.
“We write to urge you to immediately issue a pardon for Officer Derek Chauvin, who was unjustly convicted and is currently serving a 22-and-a-half year sentence for the murder of George Floyd and associated federal charges,” Shapiro wrote. He claimed the jury operated out of “massive overt pressure” to provide a “guilty verdict regardless of the evidence or any semblance of impartial deliberation.” He also claimed that the outcome of the trial was pre-determined and national media pressured the jury to align with their “preferred narrative.”
Elon Musk standing on his side, while unsurprising, is a bad choice given the amount of vitriol he has received. Other rappers such as Cardi B, Eminem, and Tyler, The Creator have called out the businessman for his political views and decisions. Tyler even changed the lyrics to his song “911” from “Shout out Elon Musk” to “F**k Elon” during a performance at Austin City Limits in 2024.
Leave a comment