Atlanta star Lakeith Stanfield has apologised after he posted a freestyle video online which contained homophobic lyrics.
Stanfield, who has also starred in Get Out and the upcoming film Sorry To Bother You, uploaded the video last week to his Instagram page with the title ‘Offensive Freestyle (not for the easily-offended)’.
The video has since been deleted by Stanfield, but it featured the actor rapping such lines as “That’s some gay shit” and “F*g, I don’t really like to brag/ But I’m straight, rich”. The clip, however, has been saved and re-uploaded to Twitter.
Stanfield addressed the subsequent furore over the freestyle with an apology video which he posted to Twitter and Instagram yesterday (June 26), with the actor explaining that “I assume characters that have different viewpoints, different views on life and just different perspectives.”
“Some things my views are aligned with, and some things my views aren’t aligned with – and this character that you’ve seen [in the freestyle video] is a character that I’m definitely not in line with and I definitely don’t believe those things.
https://twitter.com/lakeithlakeith/status/1011700081559400448
“I’ve never been homophobic. Have never agreed with homophobic thought or hatred toward anyone for that matter. I’m a person that moves in love and I want to promote and continue to push that.
“I apologise if I hurt anybody, sincerely,” he continued. “That wasn’t my intention – to be somebody that was out here just slinging arrows and hurting people, so I want them to know that I apologise that they had to feel sadness from that. So my sincerest apologies.”