Flavor Flav rips Chuck D over Bernie Sanders dispute
It took a bit for Flavor Flav “get my ducks in a row,” as he said, on Monday.
When he did, the rap superstar unleashed the entire flock at Chuck D.
“@MrChuckD are you kidding me right now??? Over Bernie Sanders???” Flav posted to Twitter and Instagram on Monday afternoon. “You wanna destroy something we’ve built over 35 years OVER POLITICS???,,,all because I don’t wanna endorse a candidate,,,I’m very disappointed in you and your decisions right now Chuck,,,”
The dispute between the co-founders of Public Enemy erupted over the weekend, centering on Chuck D’s participation in a Sunday campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The act, without Flav, was billed as Public Enemy.
Consequently, Flav’s attorneys issued a cease-and-desist letter to Sanders’ campaign claiming Public Enemy had used Flav’s image and likeness (including trademark clock necklace) without authorization.
From the letter: “While Chuck is certainly free to express his political view as he sees fit — his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy. There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.”
Chuck D responded to Rolling Stone that the group he co-founded with Flav (legal name William Jonathan Drayton Jr.) would be “moving forward without Flavor Flav,” adding, “We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.”
Less conciliatory, Chuck D said on his Twitter account that Flav did not perform because there was no appearance fee, and also intimated Flav needs recovery: “Spoke @BernieSanders rally with @EnemyRadio. If there was a $bag, Flav would’ve been there front & center. He will NOT do free benefit shows. Sued me in court the 1st time I let him back in. His ambulance lawyer sued me again on Friday & so now he stays home & better find REHAB.”
Spoke @BernieSanders rally with @EnemyRadio. If there was a $bag, Flav would’ve been there front & center. He will NOT do free benefit shows. Sued me in court the 1st time I let him back in. His ambulance lawyer sued me again on Friday & so now he stays home & better find REHAB
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) March 2, 2020
Flav also posted about his legal action, “And @MrChuckD ,,,i didn’t sue you on Friday,,,i asked the @berniesanders campaign to correct misleading marketing,,,that’s all it was,,,I’m not your employee,,,i’m your partner,,,you can’t fire me,,,there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav,,,so let’s get it right Chuck,,,”
He also posted, “Also @MrChuckD ,,,i’m not on drugs like you’re saying and have been clean for 10 years,,,i have battled addiction before and like millions of other Americans I know the massive toll it takes,,,Chuck you know better than to lie about (expletive) like that,,,,”
On Monday morning, before his Twitter barrage, Flav said, “I can’t be fired from my own group. Chuck D and all these people are jumping the gun with those words right now. That’s absurd. Me being fired is not true.”
Flav has a home in Las Vegas and is seen frequently in town, particularly at the Plaza, where he is friendly with hotel CEO Johnathan Jossel and appeared in such events as the hotel’s Casino Battle Royale Demolition Derby events at Core Arena last March and November. Flav has also been honored with his own wax figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas at The Venetian.
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John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
