Run the Jewels rapper Killer Mike has apologized for giving an interview to the NRA in which he defended gun ownership and said he had discouraged his children from participating in school walkouts in protest against gun violence. The video interview ran online the same day as the nationwide protest.
Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, has now posted two new videos apologizing for the interview and its timing.
“That interview was used a week later by NRATV to disparage a very noble campaign that I actually support,” he said. He apologized to the students who organized the rally. “I’m sorry that an interview I did about a minority, black people in this country and gun rights was used as a weapon against you guys. That was unfair to you and it was wrong, and it disparaged some very noble work you’re doing.” He encouraged them to keep organizing: “Plot, plan, strategize, organize, and mobilize.”
In the initial interview, Killer Mike said of leftwing people who are against guns; “You’re a lackey of the progressive movement, because you’ve never disagreed with the people who tell you what to do.” He added, “I told my kids on the school walkout: ‘I love you – if you walk out that school, walk out my house …’ We are not a family that jumps on every single thing an ally of ours does, because some stuff we just don’t agree with.”
