John Mayer is tone deaf when it comes to black people

OPINION - Maybe Mayer should get up to speed on black history, as well as get some psychotherapy...

Feb 11, 2010

Who would have ever thought John Mayer would be in the middle of a racial maelstrom?

The latest brouhaha revolves around some controversial statements the crooner made in the March issue of Playboy magazine, who reveals his inner thoughts on race and his sexual prowess – or lack thereof.

Specifically, this is what everyone is up in arms about:

“Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a n****r pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’”

He went on to say that his life struggle “is similar to one black dude’s,” and his lack of sexual attraction to black women is due to his “David Duke c**k.”

Of course, his publicist must have forced Mayer to apologize immediately, and he got on his Twitter account yesterday, spewing out mea culpas to whoever was left in his fan base. While he apologized only for using the N-word and nothing else, I was more interested in what he said in a subsequent tweet: “I wanted to be a blues guitar player. And a singer. And a songwriter. Not a shock jock. I don’t have the stomach for it.”

I don’t know much about this guy beyond casually hearing some of his somewhat likable blues music on the easy listening radio station or seeing his frequent tabloid magazine appearances with famous girlfriends, such as his ex Jessica Simpson, who Mayer compares to “sexual napalm” in Playboy. I wouldn’t say he’s a racist, but clearly he is either a media attention whore or has some really weird, deeply unsettling views about his racial and sexual identity. This is not the first time Mayer has gone off the reservation; just recently he said some equally ridiculous nonsense about marriage and the “Joshua Tree of vaginas.”

However, specifically regarding his latest statements, for someone who first came to national prominence courtesy of Dave Chappelle, has worked on albums with Jay-Z and Kanye West and claims to be down with black people, one would think Mayer would be savvy enough to understand that its never cool to use the n-word, even if he does have a “hood card.” It’s obvious that his interactions with black people are very limited – unless he’s best friends with Tiger Woods, who also has some strange views on male sexuality. I could care less if he’s not attracted to black women, but it is beyond strange that he would compare his lack of attraction to white supremacy. I’m surprised women of any race would want to date him.

Furthermore, what is most troubling is that he has made a career and a lot of money playing black music, and it almost feels like a slap in the face of the collective black community that such language would come out of his mouth.

Whatever love he ever thought he had in the black community has now evaporated. Maybe Mayer should get up to speed on black history, as well as get some psychotherapy.