Rapper Lil Wayne said Wednesday that he is confused by Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest because in his mind, racism “does not exist.”
“I have never, and never is a strong word, never dealt with racism, and I am glad I didn’t have to,” he told Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe on their Fox Sports show. “And I don’t know if it’s because of my blessings … but it is my reality. Not only have I thought it was over, I still believe it’s over. But obviously it isn’t.”
The “Lollipop” singer said that his diverse fan base is proof that racism “does not exist.” He said he was so clueless about racism in America that he had no idea what the Kaepernick controversy was about until recently.
“I respect the man and his decision, and that’s all I can do,” Wayne said of the San Francisco 49ers quarterback. “I have no opinion on it, because thing’s outside me … Somebody had to explain it to me like, ‘He’s kneeling because of that whole Black Lives Matter thing.'”
Wayne also told a story about a white police officer who saved his life after he accidentally shot himself at home.
Kaepernick stirred the pot a few weeks ago by sitting during “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a San Francisco preseason game, which he said after the game was to highlight what he sees as systemic racial inequality and police brutality in the U.S.
Since his initial protest, many politicians, sports figures and celebrities have commented on Kaepernick’s intentions and his method of getting his point across.
He has been joined in his national anthem protest by players across the NFL as well as U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
