Snoop Dogg has been accused of homophobia following the release of a new music video in which he questions the sexuality of a fictional rapper thought to be based on Young Thug.
Snoop features on Young Thug’s new album ‘Beautiful Thugger Girls’ (appearing on the song ‘Get High’) but his new video for ‘Moment I Feared’ appears to parody his fellow star with a character called Fonz D-lo.
In the clip, Fonz D-lo dresses in flamboyant clothing, poses for a photo shoot similar to that of the cover art for Young Thug’s ‘Jeffery’ mixtape and is asked by Snoop: “Are you gay?” Watch the video in full below.
Writing in The Guardian in response, Ben Beaumont-Thomas accuses Snoop Dogg of homophobia, saying: “His latest – and openly homophobic – video shows just how out of touch he now is with modern rap.”
.@SnoopDogg's homophobic and witless Young Thug sketch shows how out of touch he has become: https://t.co/hieWM1NXlv
— Ben Beaumont-Thomas (@ben_bt) June 21, 2017
Neither Snoop Dogg or Young Thug have yet responded to the controversy.
It’s not the first time Snoop Dogg has been accused of homophobia. In 2014, the rapper was criticised after posting a homophobic slur on his Instagram page. In a caption of a photo featuring two men laying in bed, Snoop wrote: “U n ya boyfriend since u like Jumpn on my page disrespectn b**** boy go suck ya man n get off my line f**”.
Speaking in a 2013 interview, Snoop claimed that homosexuality may never be deemed “acceptable” in rap music. When asked if Frank Ocean’s openness about his past relationships with men was a sign of progress in rap music, Snoop suggested that the “masculine” attitude of hip-hop made it difficult.
“Frank Ocean ain’t no rapper,” he said. “He’s a singer. It’s acceptable in the singing world, but in the rap world I don’t know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine.
“It’s like a football team,” Snoop added. “You can’t be in a locker room full of motherfucking tough-ass dudes, then all of a sudden say, ‘Hey, man, I like you.’ You know, that’s going to be tough.”