Ja Rule Is The New Isaiah Washington

At this rate, "anti-gay" comments are starting to matter more than "anti-black" comments. It's okay though...

*Ja Rule caused a stir among gay activists with his comments in the September issue of Complex magazine regarding homosexuals on television. The rapper responds to the backlash in a new interview with Spinner magazine to promote the Nov. 13 release of his new album, "The Mirror."

As previously reported, Complex asked the rapper to weigh in on the post-Imus criticism of derogatory hip hop lyrics. He responded by lashing out against the mainstream media, stating: "We need to go step to MTV and Viacom, and lets talk about all these f---ing shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can't watch this s---," he said. "Dating shows that's showing two guys or two girls in mid afternoon. Let's talk about s--- like that! If that's not f---ing up America, I don't know what is."

GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) responded with the following statement: "No fair-minded person can look at Ja Rule's interview with Complex magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father's mouth."

The following is an excerpt from Spinner magazine's interview with Ja Rule regarding the backlash:


S: Let's get to this straightaway: You caused quite a bit of controversy with your comments in Complex magazine, saying -- and I'm paraphrasing -- that homosexuality is what's wrong with America. Is it accurate to say that you suffer from some degree of homophobia?

J.R.: I'm a very avid speaker for all people's rights and people having their own preference. I was taken out of context. My statement was more about where our mind state is as a people. We're focused on the wrong things -- like, our country is at war right now. These things are more of a problem to me. Like another case I just read about -- young ladies being raped by six white men. These are the stories that should be popping up on my TV screen. That's what I was talking about, and somehow it got spun into some other s---.


S: How would you react if one of your kids told you that he or she was gay?

J.R. That's their own preference. I'm going to love them regardless. I have relatives that are homosexuals and, you know, they come over for Christmas, hang out. It's something that starts with us. That's why my album is named "The Mirror" -- because everybody has to look at themselves and take it upon themselves to educate. It's my responsibility to educate my children -- not the TV. I think a visual is more influential than audio, but that goes without being said. You know, that's the world we live in and people are tight in the collar about a lot of issues. It is what it is.


S: Where do you stand on gay marriage?

J.R. It's really not my business. I really could care less. It's not something that bothers me.


S: This seems to contradict some of the preconceived notions the public may have about you.

J.R.: People have a lot of misconceptions about me and it has a lot to do with me being a rap artist -- me being a young black man. You know, I get it a lot when I do films. Sometimes, I come fit and they just automatically think that I'm going to be late or I'm not going to be focused because that's what other rappers do on the set. I'm a hard worker, I come here to do my job and that's what it is. There's a lot of stereotypes that we get as rappers and young black men that are not fair.


S: Does that frustrate you?

J.R. Sometimes, but you gotta take the good with the bad. That's life. I understand it. I know it'll be a struggle for me -- being a young black man in America. And it's always been tough for me to get my point across as a rap artist.

Source

[Shout out to moonahx!]