Lakeith Stanfield Apologizes After Rapping Homophobic Lyrics As A Character

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Lakeith Stanfield attends the Sundance Institute at Sundown Summer Benefit at the Ace Hotel on June 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
Lakeith Stanfield apologizes for an Instagram video where he rapped homophobic lyrics as a character.

Lakeith Stanfield's made a major name for himself over the past few years. His roles in "Atlanta" and "Get Out" have helped established him as one a promising actor with a lot of potential to do bigger things in the future. Like most celebrities, he's fairly active on social media and sometimes shares raps on Instagram assuming the role of different characters. Stanfield faced backlash earlier this week after he used some homophobic words in a rap he shared on the 'Gram. Today, he's offered an apology to those who were offended.

Lakeith Stanfield shared a video on Instagram where he was rapping as a character and used some homophobic terms. The video was captioned, "Offensive freestyle (not for the easily offended)." He ultimately deleted it shortly after but the video circulated the web pretty quickly. Stanfield has since offered an apology on a video he shared on social media. He explained that he's not homophobic and that he doesn't always agree with the point of view of his character. 

"I make videos all the time, which I usually end up deleting as soon as I make them. I assume characters that have different viewpoints and different views on life, just from different perspectives. Some things my views are in line with, and some things my views aren't in line with. And this character that you've seen is a character I'm definitely not in line with, and I definitely don't believe those things," He explained. "I just want people to know, coming from me, that I've never been homophobic. I've never agreed with homophobic thoughts or hatred towards anyone for that matter."

He continued, "I just want people to have a clear understanding because sometimes I make these things that could be very offensive and I don't always have the luxury of context. So I want to give people the context of me and let them know I'm not with that.... I apologize if it hurt anyone sincerely. That wasn't my intention to just be somebody that was out here just slinging arrows and hurting people, so I want them to know that I apologize if they had to feel sadness from that."

Shortly after, he shared another video of him rapping as a character with the caption, "I’m not always in line with the beliefs of my characters. But sometimes I am :)."

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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