Last Friday (Aug. 5), The National reported a Wu-Tang Clan in Scotland learned the true meaning of “Protect Ya Neck.” A 25-year-old white man was fined £500 ($604 in USD) for using the N-word while rapping the group’s 1993 debut single. Kyle Siegel was recording himself for a TikTok video. What Siegel didn’t know is a mixed-race woman was in the bathroom stall next to him and heard him use the racial slur. She said she was “severely shocked” when she heard him use the N-word.

The outlet reported Siegel was brought in to Lerwick Sheriff Court for questioning related to the charges of using profanity in public. Prosecutor Fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Siegel committed the crime around 1 AM during a birthday party at the Scalloway Boating Club on Feb. 20. Siegel admitted to disorderly conduct by walking into the women’s bathroom, where several people were present, including the mixed-race woman who gave authorities the tip. Siegel’s attorney Tommy Allan says his client was singing along to a song on a friend’s phone.

The prosecutors claim the singing was so loud that the women complained. The two eventually began arguing about the use of the racial slur. The mixed woman called the police and reported the altercation. Siegel’s attorney explained that the Wu-Tang clan is a popular New York hip hop group consisting of members from “an ethnic background.” His lawyer even argued for the right of “artistic freedom” but he also noted that his client is not Black. He continued defending Siegel, saying that the defendant didn’t mean any harm, although he did cross the line. A judge ordered Siegel to pay a $604 fine for the Breach of Peace offense.

The use of the N-word has always been controversial. Kenan Thompson appeared on Charlamagne Tha God’s “Hell of a Week” late-night talk show and explained why he doesn’t use the slur. He said, “It allows for the disrespect of our culture to the point it’s detrimental, to the point where you’re getting looked at as either a threat or less than or someone who is feared when you’re getting pulled over by the police or whatever. And all these reactions with life and death situations, I don’t know. I can’t continue to just see people grabbing their phones when these things go down nothing happens.”