(AllHipHop News) Russell Simmons understands that he has probably p##### people off in the past. He also understands his upcoming content from his All Def Digital will p### people off in the future. He is fine with both, but in his interview with Cynthia LuCiette of BRKDWN, the legendary media mogul explained what made him remove the controversial “Harriet Tubman Sextape”.
According to Simmons, the NAACP informed him of the droves of Black women that were angered by his skit and
The NAACP called me and I said, ‘Oh s–t, really, really, really?’ The NAACP has called me before and has been mad at me and I work with them regularly, so I don’t always listen to everything they say. When they explained to me this, and when other people that I really respect explained to me…it was my brain that made the decision to pull it. Not outrage. There’s outrage in almost everything I do.
Simmons also took time out to address one of the most vocal detractors of the video, Spike Lee. After viewing the controversial skit, Lee took to his personal Twitter account to bash it:
Just Saw Russell Simmons Produced Skit “HARRIET TUBMAN SEXTAPE.I Ask Why Do We Desecrate Our Ancestors?Why Do We Hate Ourselves?QUESTION???
— Spike Lee (@SpikeLee) August 15, 2013
Simmons felt the energy Lee spent on his digital diatribe of the skit could have been spent on better things, such as making “a decent movie:
It’s what he does. It’s okay. Listen, I have five charities. Maybe he can work for the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding, or he can work for the Diamond Empowerment Fund and build schools in Africa, or maybe he can work for the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and campaign against the drug lords, or maybe he can sleep in the park with me and Occupy one day. Or maybe he can use his energy and make a decent movie. But he had a lot of energy that he put into this. Too much energy.
Check out the full interview below:
