Days after Flavor Flav attempted to stop the Bernie Sanders campaign from advertising a Public Enemy performance at the Senator’s Sunday night rally, the group has reportedly dismissed the long-time member and hypeman. “Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav,” the group said in a statement Sunday, as reported by Rolling Stone. “We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.”
The rapper and former reality TV star took issue with bandmate Chuck D’s decision to perform the pre-Super Tuesday event under the name Public Enemy Radio, calling it “deceptive marketing,” since Flavor Flav would not be in attendance nor had given his blessing, and suggests his endorsement.
“While Chuck is certainly free to express his political views as he sees fit – his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy,” Flav’s lawyer Matthew H. Friedman said in a statement. “The planned performance will only be Chuck D of Public Enemy, it will not be a performance by Public Enemy.” The statement concluded, “There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.”
Well, we’ve apparently got some bad news on that front, Flav. The hip-hop group might have just turned each other into private enemies, but Public Enemy Radio is, in fact, performing tonight in support of Sanders, alongside speakers Sarah Silverman and Dick Van Dyke, which you can see here.
In response to Flavor Flav’s attempt to shut down the set, Chuck D took to Twitter Sunday. “I am a political artist of song that worldwide known I make myself heard & seen outside my ART -Music only to Make you make YOUR decision & NOT be a damn robot in 2020,” the rapper wrote. “Here. I Aint a damn celeb. I aint sellin drinks. I impact with Art & Song-Pay Attention stop Playing Attention.”
About the Flav drama, he later tweeted, “I gotta leave him at the crib so ya’ll trying to fill his persona with some political aplomb is absolutely ‘stupid.’ Obviously I understand his craziness after all this damn time. Duh you don’t know him from a box of cigars or me either.” Lest you think the drama is entirely about Bernie, the pair have famously feuded over numerous issues in the past.
