(AllHipHop News) Last week Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons had some choice words for New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. During an interview with Hot 97, Simmons referred to de Blasio as a “b*tch” for not standing up to the city’s police.
[ALSO READ: Russell Simmons Calls NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio A “B*tch” For Not Standing Up To The NYPD (VIDEO)]
Hot 97 also conducted an interview with de Blasio, and the Democratic mayor was asked about Simmons’ comments. The conversation came after Simmons offered a public apology to de Blasio.
Hip hop radio / language is expressive. Comes across over zealous on conservative blogs. Apologizing to mayor for my language.
— IG: @UncleRUSH (@UncleRUSH) June 21, 2015
I appreciate @BilldeBlasio accepting my apology. I know we both want NYC to be the national leader in reforming our criminal justice system.
— IG: @UncleRUSH (@UncleRUSH) June 22, 2015
“Russell has apologized, and I certainly appreciate and accept that apology,” said de Blasio. “The facts are clear. I said when I came into office we were going to change a lot of the fundamental realities between police and the community.”
The mayor went on to state his administration has changed “stop and frisk” policies that disproportionately affected young men of color. He also added the entire NYPD is being retrained on how to deescalate use of force during confrontations with citizens, officers will begin wearing body cameras, and low-level marijuana arrests are down 65%.
Simmons has been focused on lobbying the local and state government to appoint special prosecutors to handle police brutality criminal cases. Mayor de Blasio addressed that issue as well.
“We are focused on changing the reality at the beginning, meaning I don’t want to get to the point where there has been a tragedy and we’re talking about a special prosecutor,” explained de Blasio. “Here’s the facts, right now if the governor needed to name a special prosecutor he has the power to do it this very minute.”
[ALSO READ: NY’s Mayor Bill de Blasio: “A Promise Kept: Ending the Stop-and-Frisk Era”]
Listen to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s interview below.