This time last week, the Internet was in a frenzy over Killer Mike’s missteps when he attempted to call out journalist and MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid over a perceived support of retailer H&M when Reid was only shouting out her hair and makeup team abbreviated as “h&m.” Reid politely read Killer Mike via social media, schooling the Run The Jewels emcee on the a little Beauty 101 and now, the two have been able to move past the brief misunderstanding to have a much more significant conversation.
It was on Sunday’s broadcast of the AM Joy show that Killer Mike stopped by to discuss police brutality and his controversial stance on gun control and alignment with the NRA in light of the recent arrests of two Black men that took place at a Philadelphia Starbucks, prompting a boycott of the chain coffeehouse.
“My thinking is that if either of those two men had been concealed carry holders, and any of those police officers had seen a gun, even though they were being a peaceful as they were, there is a great probability that they would be dead,” Reid reasoned. “Do you worry that encouraging black people to carry endangers black people’s lives?”
Killer Mike responded by first reminding Reid and viewers that Michael Brown was unarmed, like many other unarmed black men who have lost their lives to law enforcement in the United States.
“[They] showed themselves dignified, and regal in that arrest,” Mike explained. “They actually kept the situation calm by not raising voice, by not hiding their hands.” He went on to reference Philando Castile, who was armed and informed police of his legal conceal carry permit before being shot a point-blank range during a traffic stop. “In matters of Philando Castile, I would rather start to congratulate the man he was, he was a working man, he was a legal firearms earner.”
In the end though, many viewers felt as though Killer Mike dodged Joy Ann Reid’s on whether black gun ownership actually endangers black lives rather protect them given the vast amount of racial profiling and the common assumption to regard Black-Americans as threats when encountering law enforcement.
Catch the full clip down below and sound off with your thoughts on the recent appearance.