Kanye West is receiving backlash for his recent comments about George Floyd’s death. The rapper sat down with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on their podcast Drink Champs. He said that Floyd died because of fentanyl and that the cop’s knee wasn’t “on his neck like that.”
Kanye was discussing his newfound confidant Candace Owens’ documentary, called Black Lives Matter, The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM. Apparently the film talks about George Floyd’s death at the hands of white former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. After watching the documentary, Ye says he “learned” that Floyd’s death was actually caused by his alleged usage of fentanyl and that the cop’s knee wasn’t “on his neck like that.”
https://twitter.com/Kurrco/status/1581518506923036673?
In actuality, George Floyd was murdered in May 2020 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin when he put his knee on his neck and suffocated him for nearly nine minutes. The video was captured by an onlooker — 17-year-old Darnella Frazier — and had the country in an uproar over the senseless act. Floyd’s murder inspired protests around the world. In April of 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. The other three other officers (J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao) who were at the scene were all convicted of depriving Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority when they failed to give him medical aid. Additionally, Kueng and Thao, were convicted of not intervening to stop their fellow officer Derek Chauvin from using excessive force.
Take a look at how Twitter is responding to Kanye’s comments:
