Open Letter to the New York Post
Dear Editor:
Iʼm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had forpublishing that vile cartoon depicting the shooting of the chimpanzeethat went crazy. I guess you thought it would be funny to suggestthat whomever was responsible for writing the Economic Recovery legislation must have the intelligence and judgment of a deranged,violent chimpanzee, and should be shot to protect the largercommunity. Really? Did it occur to you that this suggestion wouldimply a connection between President Barack Obama and the deranged chimpanzee? Did it occur to you that our President has been receiving death threats since early in his candidacy?
Did it occur to you thatblacks have historically been compared to various apes as a way of racist insult and mockery? Did you intend to invoke these painfulthemes when you printed the cartoon?If thatʼs not what you intended, then it was stupid and willfully ignorant of you not to connect these easily connectable dots. If itis what you intended, then you obviously wanted to be grosslyprovocative, racist and offensive to the sensibilities of mostreasonable Americans. Either way, you should not have printed thiscartoon, and the fact that you did is truly reprehensible.
I canʼtimagine what possible justification you have for this. Iʼve read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you for dodging the real issue and then using the letter as an opportunityto attack Rev. Sharpton. This is not about Rev. Sharpton. Itʼs about the cartoon being blatantly racist and offensive.I believe in freedom of speech, and you have every right to print whatyou want. But freedom of speech still comes with responsibilities and consequences. You are responsible for printing this cartoon, and Ihope you experience some real consequences for it.
Iʼm personally boycotting your paper and wonʼt do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well. I implore your advertisers to seriously reconsider their business relationships with you as well. You should print an apology in your paper acknowledging that this cartoon was ignorant, offensive and racist and should not have been printed.
Iʼm well aware of our countryʼs history of racism and violence, but Itruly believe we are better than this filth. As we attempt to riseabove our difficult past and look toward a better future, we donʼt need the New York Post to resurrect the images of Jim Crow to deride the new administration and put black folks in our place. Please feel free to criticize and honestly evaluate our new President, but do so without the incendiary images and rhetoric.
Sincerely,
John Legend
Dear Editor:
Iʼm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had forpublishing that vile cartoon depicting the shooting of the chimpanzeethat went crazy. I guess you thought it would be funny to suggestthat whomever was responsible for writing the Economic Recovery legislation must have the intelligence and judgment of a deranged,violent chimpanzee, and should be shot to protect the largercommunity. Really? Did it occur to you that this suggestion wouldimply a connection between President Barack Obama and the deranged chimpanzee? Did it occur to you that our President has been receiving death threats since early in his candidacy?
Did it occur to you thatblacks have historically been compared to various apes as a way of racist insult and mockery? Did you intend to invoke these painfulthemes when you printed the cartoon?If thatʼs not what you intended, then it was stupid and willfully ignorant of you not to connect these easily connectable dots. If itis what you intended, then you obviously wanted to be grosslyprovocative, racist and offensive to the sensibilities of mostreasonable Americans. Either way, you should not have printed thiscartoon, and the fact that you did is truly reprehensible.
I canʼtimagine what possible justification you have for this. Iʼve read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you for dodging the real issue and then using the letter as an opportunityto attack Rev. Sharpton. This is not about Rev. Sharpton. Itʼs about the cartoon being blatantly racist and offensive.I believe in freedom of speech, and you have every right to print whatyou want. But freedom of speech still comes with responsibilities and consequences. You are responsible for printing this cartoon, and Ihope you experience some real consequences for it.
Iʼm personally boycotting your paper and wonʼt do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well. I implore your advertisers to seriously reconsider their business relationships with you as well. You should print an apology in your paper acknowledging that this cartoon was ignorant, offensive and racist and should not have been printed.
Iʼm well aware of our countryʼs history of racism and violence, but Itruly believe we are better than this filth. As we attempt to riseabove our difficult past and look toward a better future, we donʼt need the New York Post to resurrect the images of Jim Crow to deride the new administration and put black folks in our place. Please feel free to criticize and honestly evaluate our new President, but do so without the incendiary images and rhetoric.
Sincerely,
John Legend
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