Watch Erykah Badu Cover Fela Kuti & Perform "On & On" on 'Fallon'
Source: NBC
Source: NBC
UPDATE: Johnathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, has called out Erykah Badu for a remark she made in a new interview where she said she "saw something good in Hitler."
"I also like to think that there is good in all people, but Hitler is pure evil," Greenblatt tweeted. "I don't care if he painted or was a vegetarian; Hitler is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews & a war that claimed the lives of tens of millions. Shame on you for downplaying that."
"You are a role model to many, and as such, you should immediately apologize for these irresponsible and misguided comments," Greenblatt concluded.
Read the original story below.
When it comes to Erykah Badu we often associate positivity with the Baduizm songstress. However, That positivity ultimately resulted in some comments being said in a new interview that some people have found problematic.
Speaking with Vulture, one of the questions asked to Badu is who she is currently listening to, to which she says D.R.A.M., Lil Uzi Vert, and XXXTentacion, the latter of whom is under house and arrest and faces up to 30 years in prison for charges including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman.
When asked about XXX's allegations, Badu replies: "I would never suggest that I have the popular opinion on this. Because I don't."
Then, when asked about the allegations other entertainers such as Bill Cosby and Louis C.K. are facing and being able to separate the art from the artist, the singer first makes a comparison to a story from the Bible, before elaborating further.
"I don’t want to get scared into not thinking for myself. I weigh everything. Even what you just asked me, I would have to really think about it and know the facts in each of those situations before I made a judgment. Because I love Bill Cosby, and I love what he’s done for the world. But if he's sick, why would I be angry with him? The people who got hurt, I feel so bad for them. I want them to feel better, too. But sick people do evil things; hurt people hurt people...I'm not trying to rebel against what everybody’s saying, but maybe I want to measure it... The rush to get mad doesn’t make sense to me."
From there, the conversation then speaks on both Badu and the author's own ideas of morality and empathy, with Badu saying she sees "good in everybody," including someone like Hitler.
"Come again?" the author says, with Badu responding: "Yeah, I did. Hitler was a wonderful painter."
The remarks on Cosby and Hitler, but primarily Hitler, caused some backlash on Twitter.
Elsewhere in the interview, Badu speaks on Donald Trump, as well as making new original music. You can read those quotes below and read the interview in its entirety here.
Erykah Badu on Donald Trump:
"The thing about Trump is that he's a bad guy to the point where it looks manufactured. Are we playing games here? He can’t really be that bad. I’m not a conspiracy theorist at all—I don’t give a shit about that stuff—but it looks like Trump's just trying to spark division. It looks like a game. Why are we being toyed with?"
Erykah Badu on working on new music:
"I went to South Africa and recorded drums from Soweto, from Johannesburg, just gathering sounds. That's what I’m interested in right now — sound vibration. If I put out another project, it'll be like that. Maybe I'm humming or primal wailing or tribal moaning. You know, I haven't written anything in five years."
