Rush Limbaugh: If Kanye West Rapped the Racist Frat Chant, It'd Be a Hit

Plus, Twitter creates the hashtag #RapAlbumsThatCausedSlavery to fire back at "Morning Joe" hosts for blaming the Oklahoma video on rappers

By Bruna Nessif Mar 12, 2015 2:30 AMTags
Kanye West, Rush LimbaughPascal Le Segretain/Getty Images,

You guys, Rush Limbaugh has something to say.

The host discussed the widely talked-about racist chant video sung by University of Oklahoma's SAE fraternity on his show today, and argued that had Kanye West rapped the same words (which include racial slurs and reference lynching), it would become a chart-topper.

"If this had been a song by Kim Kardashian's husband and they had sung this song at the Grammys...it'd be a hit," he said, and then added after a colleague disagreed, "But I'm telling you this stuff gets awards and the people who sing it are portrayed as American royalty in terms of celebrity. You can't deny that."

Meanwhile, MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough echoed similar sentiments when they argued that rappers are to blame for chants like this occurring.

The duo first talked about rapper Waka Flocka Flame's "disgust" with the video and his decision to cancel his upcoming campus appearance before going into the discussion about rap music being the core issue for the frat's racist behavior.

"If you look at every single song, I guess you call these, that he's written, it's a bunch of garbage," Brzezinski said. "It's full of N-words, it's full of F-words. It's wrong. And he shouldn't be disgusted with them, he should be disgusted with himself."

"The kids that are buying hip-hop or gangster rap, it's a white audience, and they hear this over and over again," Scarborough added. "So do they hear this at home? Well, chances are good, no, they heard a lot of this from guys like this who are now acting shocked."

Brzezsinski later clarified her comments in another appearance on MSNBC by saying, "The students in the video are responsible for their behavior. And as we said on our show this morning, they did it, and it's beyond appalling. In no way is anybody else to blame for what they did on that bus. They are responsible and they made that choice."

Regardless, the hosts faced backlash for their comments on Twitter and sparked the satirical hashtag #RapAlbumsThatCausedSlavery:

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

The University of Oklahoma expelled two students who were accused of having a "leadership role" in Sigma Alpha Epsilon's racist chant video that leaked earlier this week.

One of the students issued an apology while the family of the other student released a statement on his behalf. Brody and Susan Pettit, parents of expelled student Levi Pettit, said in a statement to Dallas Morning News.

University of Oklahoma President David Boren released a statement on Twitter yesterday morning, saying the investigation into the video was continuing and that other students determined to have been part of the racist chant will face "appropriate disciplinary action."

"I have emphasized that there is zero tolerance for this kind of threatening racist behavior at the University of Oklahoma," Boren said. "I hope the entire nation will join us in having zero tolerance of such racism when it raises its ugly head in other situations across our country."