While T.I. has spent the entire duration of his lengthy career expressing himself freely, his latest political statement has drawn some predictable criticism from the current administration.
Recently, the Atlanta rapper took to social media to publicly criticize Kanye West following his recent visit to the White House. T.I. wrote that he is now “ashamed to have ever been associated” with Ye. Then, taking it a step further, Tip uploaded a new video promoting his 10th studio album, Dime Trap. During the minute-long clip, a blonde lookalike of Melania Trump can be seen removing the controversial “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?” jacket and stripping down to the nude atop the Oval Office’s Resolute desk, prior to defacing a portrait of her husband.
The video, which was captioned, “Dear 45, I ain’t Kanye,” has naturally garnered all sorts of reactionary feedback. A spokesperson for the First Lady is now calling for a boycott of the Atlanta rapper in response.
“How is this acceptable?” Trump’s spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, shared on Twitter, adding the hashtags #disgusting and #boycottTI.
The video has since been viewed over a million times. Thousands of viewers have also weighed in on the purposely disrespectful promotional clip, as they debate whether it crossed a line or effectively communicated the point Tip was looking to make.
The rapper has not yet issued another comment on the matter and instead has returned to promoting his new album in conventional ways, this time in the form of releasing a new music video for the track “The Weekend” featuring Young Thug.
Take a look at T.I.’s message to Donald and Melanie Trump below.