R&B singer Tyrese tried to have a moment as a political pundit, and it did not go well for him. After admonishing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for allegedly not doing enough for Black people, social media users proceeded to drag him to the ends of the “loud and wrong” universe.
It started when footage of Tyrese speaking to Dr. Benjamin Crump started going viral. In the clip, the crooner was being critical of Harris and Biden for passing an Anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill that allegedly leapfrogged the problems of Black people throughout the nation.
“President Biden and Kamala Harris signed an Asian Hate Crime Bill, which makes it beyond illegal to ever purposely or maliciously do anything to anybody in the Asian community,” said Tyrese. “And there was a spike in crimes and criminal behavior in and around COVID allegedly and specifically motivated by Donald Trump. So everybody started treating Asians… beating them, killing them, shooting them, stabbing them, hurting them. And then [Biden] gets into the White House and skips over every Black and Brown Mexican and Latino that has been getting killed like flies and he makes it a low: Asian Hate Crime Bill.”
Black Ty wasn’t finished. He continued, “There is a crime bill that was signed into law that protects Asians at all costs. Where is that same f*cking law to be signed into law when it comes to Black and Brown people? Because what you’re doing is—President Biden and Kamala Harris—what you’re doing is, you’re saying that Black and Brown people will continue to be disposable. That sh*t doesn’t make sense.”
This Biden and Harris helped Asians and not Black people narrative has been running on social media for a while, but the problem is that it’s highly inaccurate. And for this, Tyrese proceeded to get schooled by anyone with actual political awareness beyond memes and barbershop talking points.
Off top, there is no Anti-Asia Hate Crime Bill, it’s actually called the Covid-19 Hate Crime Bill. In actuality, there have been a number of bills passed specifically tailored for the defense of Black people that include the Civil Rights Act of 1969 and more recently the Emmett Till Antilynching Act a hate crime bill of 2021, which Biden signed. Many people are quick to note all this energy about Democrats not really looking out for Black people, yet most progressive bills (like the George Floyd Act) were blocked by Republicans.
What makes all this particularly frustrating to people who know better, is that all the intel needed to counter such misinformation is just a Google search away. Add to this mix that a loud minority of Black men are doing it, and it’s just the nastiest of work.
Worth noting, Tyrese also recently revealed that he was taking a break (“go dark”) from social media. Do some reading sir, respectfully.
Check out the lessons Tyrese is getting in the gallery. Consider it the hard way of getting knowledge on these Internets.