Russell Simmons Extra Guest Host - P 2012
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Russell Simmons and Geraldo Rivera might be longtime friends, but that didn’t stop the music mogul from publicly blasting the TV host following his Trayvon Martin apology.
Rivera apologized on Tuesday for offending supporters of Martin with his remarks about the hoodie the unarmed 17-year-old wore when he was killed by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., last month.
In a mea culpa that didn’t quite back down from Rivera’s anti-hoodie message, he conceded: “I have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager, and I began today’s program with a sincere and heartfelt apology to anyone I may have offended by my crusade to warn minority families of the danger to their young sons inherent in gangsta style clothing; like hoodies.”
That didn’t sit well with Simmons, who responded in a blistering post on the website Global Grind.
“Geraldo, your apology is bull—! Your apology is nothing but a defense of a racist, backward thing you already said,” said Simmons, calling Rivera “my friend for many years.” “And I am a yogi, and I generally don’t speak like this, but I have to say it like it is. It is a non-apology apology that continues to blame the victim for their appearance.”
STORY: Russell Simmons Talks Hollywood, The Oscars And Race
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