Many people from the hip-hop community are calling for the firing of Fox News host Laura Ingraham following her comments regarding Nipsey Hussle’s memorial service, which took place last Thursday in Los Angeles.
WATCH BELOW: Thousands of fans attend Nipsey Hussle’s memorial
On Friday’s episode of The Ingraham Angle, the Fox News host aired a segment about Hussle following his memorial service. She referenced rapper YG’s song FDT, which was released three years ago featuring Hussle.
Ingraham mentioned how “thousands lined the streets to say goodbye to rapper Nipsey Hussle.”
READ MORE: One person shot, killed near Nipsey Hussle procession route
“This dear artist recently released a song called FDT, F Donald Trump,” Ingraham said before playing clips of YG in the music video, and no clips of Hussle.
She began to laugh while discussing the lyrics of YG’s song.
“That’s a very catchy refrain,” she said to Raymond Arroyo, who also laughed and responded: “Very catchy.”
“So…the chorus it goes on and on… Is that related to the lowest unemployment ever basically for African Americans?” Ingraham asked.
READ MORE: Nipsey Hussle memorial: Thousands gather in L.A. to mourn rapper
Several prominent people in the music industry are now criticizing Ingraham for her disrespectful comments about Hussle.
WATCH BELOW: Massive memorial forms outside Nipsey Hussle’s store
Los Angeles rapper The Game took to social media to call for Ingraham’s firing.
“So lemme tell you what’s going to happen here…. @foxnews fires this disrespectful c*** by tomorrow,” the How We Do artist wrote on Instagram Sunday. “We are NO LONGER laying quiet while you continuously disrespect our brother, culture African Americans as a whole. I will use my platform & call on my peers to do the same.”
He continued: “Nips passing nor his legacy is to be taken lightly as there will be consequences for any disrespect now or in the future as long as I have a voice !!! I’m asking all of my followers, fans, friends & family to spread this video with demands of #LauraIngrahams termination immediately !!!!! This is not a game & my brothers untimely demise has noticeably shifted the world & brought people from all ethnicity’s together in mourning.”
“Here is a power in that, that will be used & action will be taken from now going forward. We will not be accepting any apology from her… we want her fired, PERIOD !!!!! #TheMarathonContinues DO NOT LET THIS SLIDE MY PEOPLE. I know you can feel the energy NIP left all of us.. I know you feel it !!!!!,” The Game concluded.
READ MORE: Nipsey Hussle memorial ticket scalping shut down by eBay
Snoop Dogg, who spoke at Hussle’s memorial, commented on The Game’s photo, saying, “I’m in.”
WATCH BELOW: Snoop Dogg’s full eulogy at Nipsey Hussle’s funeral
Atlanta rapper T.I. also took to Instagram to call out Ingraham and Fox News.
“This is Disgusting! You both are vile despicable, poor excuses for people. My expectations have already decreased so much for mankind in the past couple weeks that this hardly surprised me… especially from @foxnews,” T.I. wrote.
He continued: “But rest assured that sooner than later you’ll BOTH see… WE ALL GET OUR TURN TO LIVE THROUGH OUR OWN PERSONAL TRAGEDY… and watch how many people dance in the streets,laugh and crack distasteful inappropriate jokes when it’s YOUR TURN!!!! Karma is constant & the laws of reciprocity ARE IN ORDER!!!! Neither of you WILL EVER know or experience the level of love, appreciation and respect that Nip has… EVEN IN DEATH!!! So let that sizzle in ya lil hateful,demonic spirits. And with that… I’m logging off IG at least a month or so…,” the Whatever You Like rapper wrote.
Toronto hip-hop artist Tory Lanez echoed T.I. and The Game’s messages. “F**K YOU LAURA FROM @foxnews LIKE SINCERELY FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART .. F**K YOU,” he captioned a photo on Instagram.
R&B artist Tank posted a black and white photo reading ‘FIRE LAURA INGRAHAM’ to his Instagram page.
“REPOST! REPOST! REPOST REPOST! Disrespecting the deceased is not news! It’s just disrespect! If this is not what @foxnews is all about we shall see! #firelauraingraham #TheGeneral #TheMarathonContinues #RIP #NipseyHussle LINK IS IN MY BIO!!.” he wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwQDQbtBB68/?utm_source=ig_embed
READ MORE: Nick Cannon hints that he’ll finish Nipsey Hussle’s documentary
In his bio, Tank shared a link to a petition calling for Ingraham to be fired. As of this wring, the petition has over 37,000 signatures with a goal of 1K.
WATCH BELOW: Nipsey Hussle honoured with Frank Sinatra tribute
The petition page reads: “Laura made disrespectful and unprofessional comments, which included laughter regarding as she was sharing information regarding Nipsey Hussle’s passing! The best apology that could be received is for Laura to be terminated from Fox News networking channel.”
Hussle was laid to rest in the same cemetery where Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Bette Davis and Lucille Ball are buried. A small private funeral was held at the Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills cemetery in Los Angeles on Friday, a day after a memorial service for 20,000 was held at the Staples Center.
Hussle was shot and killed March 31st outside his clothing store in South Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to rename that intersection “Nipsey Hussle Square.”
READ MORE: Rap community, celebrities mourn Nipsey Hussle
This isn’t the first time Ingraham has been under fire for her controversial comments.
In February 2018, Ingraham made a comment to LeBron James when she sought to rebuke him for talking politics during an interview.
Ingraham criticized James for expressing his opinions, including the quickly infamous “shut up and dribble” comment.
WATCH BELOW: Fox News host Laura Ingraham under fire for telling LeBron James, Kevin Durant to ‘shut up and dribble’
Ingraham’s comments — including telling James to “keep the political commentary to yourself” — were in reference to the James/Durant interview.
“I will not just shut up and dribble,” James said during a media session. “So, thank you, whatever her name is… I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids.
“It lets me know that everything I’ve been saying is correct for her to have that type of reaction,” James said of Ingraham. “But we will definitely not shut up and dribble. I will definitely not do that.”
WATCH BELOW: ‘I will not just shut up and dribble’: LeBron James fires back at Fox News host
“I mean too much to society, I mean too much to the youth, I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don’t have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they’re in.”
Ingraham released a statement Saturday defending her comments.
“In 2003, I wrote a New York Times bestseller called ‘Shut Up & Sing,’ in which I criticized celebrities like the Dixie Chicks and Barbra Streisand, who were trashing then-President George W. Bush. I have used a variation of that title for more than 15 years to respond to performers who sound off on politics,” Ingraham said. “If pro athletes and entertainers want to freelance as political pundits, then they should not be surprised when they’re called out for insulting politicians. There was no racial intent in my remarks — false, defamatory charges of racism are a transparent attempt to immunize entertainment and sports elites from scrutiny and criticism.”
READ MORE: ‘I will not just shut up and dribble’: LeBron James fires back at Fox News host
Later that year, David Hogg, a survivor of the Flordia high school massacre, called for a boycott of the Fox News host after she compared the camps where migrant children are being housed in isolation from their parents to “summer camps.”
WATCH BELOW: Fox News host Laura Ingraham under fire for comparing border detention facilities to ‘summer camps’
Hogg, 18, tweeted a list of a dozen companies that advertise on The Ingraham Angle and urged his supporters to demand that they cancel their ads.
Hogg took aim at Ingraham‘s advertisers after she taunted him on Twitter, accusing him of whining about being rejected by four colleges to which he had applied.
Ingraham tweeted an apology “in the spirit of Holy Week,” saying she was sorry for any hurt or upset she had caused Hogg or any of the “brave victims” of Parkland.
“For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David … immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how ‘poised’ he was given the tragedy,” Ingraham tweeted.
—With files from Reuters
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