John Legend upset after a photographer called him a monkey, says he is not hurt, but upset with racism.
News
oi-Monojit
By Monojit
Renowned
American
musician,
singer
and
actor
John
Roger
Stephens,
popularly
known
as
John
Legend,
is
really
upset
for
being
called
a
'monkey'
by
a
photographer.
The
singer
says
he
is
not
hurt
by
such
a
comment
but
rather
upset
to
find
that
racism
still
exists.
He
added,
black
people
in
America
have
to
deal
with
these
dehumanisation
always
and
it
is
still
quite
evident
even
in
the
present
days.
"We
were
right
next
to
each
other
and
we
looked
at
each
other
like,
'Did
he
really
just
say
that?'
And
he
really
said
it.
He
basically
called
me
a
monkey." Said
John
Legend
in
a
statement
that
criticized
the
photographer
severely.
"Black
folks
have
had
to
deal
with
being
called
monkeys
for
a
long
time
and
dehumanisation
has
always
been
a
method
of
racism
and
subjugation
of
black
people.
That's
just
part
of
American
history
and
it's
part
of
the
present,
apparently." He
added.
"We
saw
it
with
the
former
president,
Obama,
whenever
people
wanted
to
discount
him
or
discount
his
wife,
they
compared
them
to
apes.
And
we've
seen
that
frequently.
You
know,
I'm
not
hurt
by
someone
saying
that
to
me
because
I'm
smarter,
I'm
stronger."
Stated
John.
"I
look
down
on
that
person
that
would
say
something
like
that,
but
it's
a
shame
that
still
exists."
He
added
further.