New York State Senator Malcolm A. Smith held a press conference in the middle of Times Square Wednesday to express how “taken aback” and “shocked” he was that rapper Lil Wayne said, “I don’t like New York,” in a recent interview with MTV News. Smith held the event to demand an apology from the Young Money rapper.
Smith, a Hollis Queens native, told TMZ that if Lil Wayne “doesn’t like New York, then perhaps he shouldn’t come to New York.” Smith says that the rapper has made a living off all the visitors and residents of New York with sales of his merchandise and concert tickets. The NY democrat also suggested that with these remarks, Lil Wayne also insulted the late Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z, and his label-mate Nicki Minaj, who are all native New Yorkers.
The senator acknowledged Wayne’s recent track record of NYC mishaps, including his 2007 arrest for gun possession — which landed him 8 months on Riker’s Island in 2010, but insists that his comments “outraged his local fans and residents.”
Lil Wayne has not responded to State Senator Smith’s demand for an apology.
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