Surviving R. Kelly and Leaving Neverland have reignited public outrage over the sexual abuse scandals involving R. Kelly and Michael Jackson. Though these accusations go back decades, the recent #MeToo movement has forced many fans to answer uncomfortable questions about their disgraced idols: Should they be held accountable for the alleged crimes committed years ago? Is it possible to separate the art from the artist? And—in regards to Jackson—is it appropriate to continue accusing a person who is no longer alive to defend themselves?
YG and his frequent collaborator DJ Mustard touched on these question during an impromptu debate Friday night in Los Angeles. TMZ asked the men about the controversies surrounding Kelly and MJ, to which Mustard replied: "I don't f**k with R. Kelly. He's a monster. He's a pig."
YG then asked if Mustard felt the same way about Jackson, who has been hit with multiple accusations of child molestation. Mustard was surprisingly more sympathetic toward the late king of pop: "I don't believe that. I don't believe what they say," the DJ said before admitting he has yet to see Leaving Neverland. "I didn't watch the Michael Jackson [documentary] yet, but I did watch the R. Kelly [documentary], and I don't f**k with him because I have a daughter."
Mustard goes on to say he will not sample R. Kelly, but couldn't same the same for Jackson.
"Wait. Hold on. He don't f**k with R. Kelly, but he don't know about Michael Jackson?" YG said, before disavowing both artists.
Though the Compton rapper insists he doesn't support Kelly or Jackson, he is convinced that racism has played a part in their tarnished legacies.
"What I don't f**k with is that these white people, they been doing whatever they been doing about Michael Jackson, and they chose now to try to destroy my n**ga character, 'cause he's a black male, you know what I'm sayin'?" YG said. "[...] He can't defend himself. He's a dead man. It's racism s**t going on in this world, and that's why they're coming for Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, all in like a nine-month situation."
You can watch YG's and Mustard's full comments here.
