Italy international striker Mario Balotelli has slammed American rapper Kanye West for comments he made over slavery. West claimed the enslavement of African Americans over centuries was a “choice”.
In an interview with TMZ, the 40-year-old said: “When you hear about slavery for 400 years… for 400 years? That sounds like a choice.
“You was there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all? It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned.”
West partially retracted his comments as he tweeted: “Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will. My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved.”
But the comment attracted a backlash from many quarters, with Balotelli speaking up from the footballing world.
“What kind of bull***t coming out of your month?” he said on Instagram. “Really? Slavery was by choice? Brother, seriously, who brainwashed you?”
Balotelli, who was born to Ghanaian parents and adopted by an Italian family, has been dogged by racist incidents throughout his career, most recently claiming that he received racial abuse from a section of Dijon fans during a 3-2 defeat in Ligue 1 in February.
Tags
Entertainment