Renowned author and activist Kevin Powell has openly attacked Snoop Dogg for attending a Donald Trump event prior to his inauguration claiming the rap legend has abandoned his community and his principles.
Powell didn’t mince words when he called Snoop’s attendance at the pre-inauguration ball over the weekend a betrayal of the rapper’s longstanding relationship with his fans in an interview on TMZ Live on Monday, January 20.
“Snoop wasn’t always this way,” Powell stated, referencing the artist’s history of supporting his community. He alleged that Snoop’s decision to perform at the event signalled a shift in priorities, claiming the rapper had traded his principles “for a bag of money.”
Powell also took issue with country music icon Carrie Underwood who is well-known for her advocacy of gun control and LGBTQ+ rights for attending Trump’s inauguration.
He charged that participating artists and others were supporting a president whose beliefs he characterized as sexist homophobic racist transphobic and xenophobic.
Powell’s viewpoint is not held by all artists.
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“It’s a stab in the back to fans who’ve supported their music and their careers,” Powell said, arguing that such actions disregard the diverse communities that form their fan bases.
In a different TMZ interview singer Bobby Valentino retorted that attending an event does not mean supporting a politician’s opinions stressing that a gig is just a gig.
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Powell’s remarks are part of a larger discussion concerning the function of entertainers and celebrities at political gatherings with many people raising concerns about the consequences of their involvement.
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