Dublin rappers Versatile have issued an apology for "the use of a racial stereotype" in one of their songs.
The lyrics of "Dublin City G's" were widely labelled as "lazy racial stereotypes."
In a statement on their Twitter account, the pair have admitted they could have responded earlier:
"We know we could have addressed this sooner."
After that, they say it's not enough to stay silent.
"We thought the progression in our music would demonstrate our stance on this."
"But we have now learned it's not enough to be quietly anti-racist."
Blackface Instagram Post: Walsh "Was Oblivious"
Casey Walsh, aka "Casper" has apologised for blackface in the past, when he dressed up as Ice Cube.
"At the time I was oblivious to the history of blackface and the issues surrounding this."
"I'm hugely sorry for my ignorance."
"I regret not addressing this issue sooner."
Versatile Apology: Twitter Users Furious
This apology may be sparked by the tide of comments under a post by MCD, where they expressed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
— MCD Productions (@mcd_productions) May 31, 2020
Almost all of those who commented brought this up:
Take action by not booking Versatile.
— Alice Murphy (@iamalicemurphy) June 2, 2020
Versatile Accused Of "Capitalising On BLM"
However people on Twitter have accused the group of ignoring concerns in the past.
While this issue was brought up in summer 2019.
At the time both MCD and Versatile themselves didn't respond when asked to comment.
TOO LATE, they are only publicly apologising now to capitalise on supporting the BLM movement. Where is cancelling culture when you need it, they need to be discredited by everyone at this point, c'mon!!!!!
— emma_jg (@emajg3) June 5, 2020
To learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and how you can support and educate yourself, click here.
