Justin Bieber is No Better Than Donald Sterling, Says Rapper Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco is comparing Justin Bieber to Donald Sterling.
Sterling, the 80-year-old Jewish lawyer, real estate investor and previous owner of the Clippers, was banned for life from NBA proceedings by NBA commissioner Adam Silver last April. After TMZ released audio of Sterling telling his alleged mistress V. Stiviano not to associate with black people, Silver fined him $2.5 million and worked to overthrow his position with a 75 percent vote from other NBA team owners.
Bieber, the 20-year-old Canadian singer, used the n-word in two recent videos where he seemed to be making jokes with racial undertones. After a video of Bieber using the word in a tape created five years ago came to light, the budding pop star issued a public apology. While a number of black celebrities have come to Bieber's defense the, 32-year-old rapper Fiasco does not believe people should be so quick to overlook his offenses.
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Fiasco compared Bieber to Sterling to prove his point.
"Justin Bieber said it [so] it's cool, and people are already coming to his defense. I don't think anybody should be allowed to profit off racism," Fiasco told MTV News. "Donald Sterling made a billion dollars [when] he sold the team, and there was such an uproar about somebody who didn't use the n-word at all, but then you have somebody who made a very racist joke about it - I wonder if Justin Bieber's gonna get the same treatment as Donald Sterling?"
The rapper went on to drive his point home.
"I don't think he will," he told MTV. "It's an absurd thing -- you get somebody who we 'like' who says it, and says it even more 'racist-ier' and we don't bat an eyelash at it."
Bieber has not made excuses for his behavior, but he has taken responsibility and issued a public apology. The pop star even took a page from the daily devotional "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young that seemed to apply to his circumstances.
"When your sins weigh heavily upon you, come to Me. Confess your wrongdoing, which I know all about before you say a word," the page re-posted by Bieber reads. "Stay in the Light of My Presence, receiving forgiveness, cleansing, and healing. Remember that I have clothed you in My righteousness, so nothing can separate you from Me. Whenever you stumble or fall, I am there to help you up."
