1 of 3 | Snoop Dogg attends the premiere of the film "Meet the Blacks" held at the ArcLight Theater in Los Angeles on March 29, 2016. He has asked his fans to join him in boycotting History's "Roots" revival, saying he does not want to emphasize the abuse African Americans have been through, and wants to promote more inspiring stories from people of color. File Photo by Phil McCarten/UPI |
License Photo
LOS ANGELES, May 31 (UPI) -- Snoop Dogg has called for a boycott of History's Roots revival following the show's premiere Monday night.
The 44-year-old rapper uploaded a video of himself discussing his qualms with the show based on the book by Alex Haley, saying, "They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took."
"How the [expletive] they gonna put Roots on on Memorial Day? They gonna just keep beating that [expletive] in our heads of how they did us, huh?" he said in the clip. "I don't understand America. They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But, guess what? We taking the same abuse."
Snoop Dogg then admonished television shows that depict the struggles of African Americans during slavery and beyond. He then called for more shows that represent the strides and successes the community has achieved since its historical bondage.
"When you all going to make a [expletive] series about success black folks is having?" he said to the camera. "The only success we have is Roots and 12 Years a Slave and [expletive] like that, huh? [Expletive] y'all. I ain't watching that [expletive]...Let's create our own [expletive] based on today, how we live, and how we inspire people today."
The miniseries Roots premiered Monday at 9 p.m. and will air every night through Thursday on History. It stars Forest Whitaker as Fiddler, Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte, Laurence Fishburne as Alex Haley, Carlacia Grant as Irene and Matthew Goode as Dr. William Waller, among others.