Jamie Foxx Calls Out Jay Z, Kanye West For Social Responsibility
Jamie Foxx, the 45-year-old entertainer, called out Jay Z and Kanye West among others at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream Speech."
Joined by the likes of President Barack Obama, media maven Oprah Winfrey and film star Forest Whitaker, Foxx delivered his own three-minute speech where he recalled meeting Harry Belafonte. Foxx's meeting with Belafonte, the 86-year-old entertainer and activist, inspired him to speak directly to influential entertainers like rappers Shawn "Jay Z" Carter and Kanye West.
"What we need to do now, the young folks pick it up now so that when we're 87 years old talking to the other young folks we can say it was me, Will Smith, Jay Z, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Kerry Washington… the list goes on," Foxx said in his speech, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Don't make me star preaching up here. Everybody my age and all of the entertainers, it's time for us to stand up now and renew this dream."
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Foxx's comments come one month after Jay Z spoke out against Belafonte who spoke out against the former's lack of social responsibility amongst today's celebrities. Jay Z was candid in his response about the activist.
"I'm offended by that because first of all, this is going to sound arrogant, but my presence is charity. Just who I am, [is charity], just like Obama is," Jay Z told Rap Radar's Elliot Wilson last month. "If he speaks on any issue or anything, he should be left alone. [...] Of course we want to challenge [Obama] to do better, but I felt like Belafonte just went about it wrong."
However, Belafonte wanted to peacefully talk things out with the rapper while addressing the issue of social responsibility.
"...I would like to say to Jay Z, to Beyonce: My heart is wide open and filled with nothing but hope and the promise that we can sit and have a one-on-one," Belafonte told MSNBC last May. "And lets understand each other rather than try to answer these questions and these nuances in a public place."
