TV personality Sharon Osbourne appeared to express regret for donating $900,000 to Black Lives Matter, saying she’d like a refund.
Osbourne, former co-host of The Talk, on Friday was asked by TMZ about the controversy surrounding Kanye West, who has come under fire since he donned a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a Paris fashion show and later referred to BLM as a “scam.”
“Have you seen everything that’s going on with Kanye West?” paparazzi with TMZ asked Osbourne while she was walking along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, adding later that “everyone wants to cancel him.”
When Osbourne was asked about it, she seemed confused, saying she doesn’t “understand why white lives don’t matter.”
“I don’t understand it. It’s not my thing. It’s not my culture. … Everybody matters, don’t they?” Osbourne said.
TMZ asked her if she agreed with West, but Osbourne said she didn’t know “what his point is.”
“I don’t know. That’s what I say. I can’t answer.”
When TMZ informed her that West had called BLM a “scam,” Osbourne said: “Well, we gave $900,000 to that and, um, I’d like my money back, please. I wish he could have said that before (she made the donation, presumably in 2020, per TMZ).”
Should Osbourne get a refund?
“Do you think Kanye needs help?” TMZ then asked Osbourne. “Do you think it’s an appropriate thing to do — to cancel him?”
“Um, nope,” Osbourne said.
While she refrained from saying too much about the topic, which she seemed to know little about, she did defend West’s right to have his opinion.
“You can’t stop people from living their lives, from doing what they do,” she said.
She added that people who are angry at West should simply stop following him.
“Don’t go to his social media. Don’t listen to his music. Leave the guy alone. Let him do what he does, and if you don’t like him, do that. Leave him alone,” Osbourne said.
The controversy surrounding West, also known as “Ye,” began after he wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt at his “Yeezy Season 9” fashion show in Paris on Monday.
He was joined by conservative commentator Candace Owens.
Kanye West & Candace Owens wearing White Lives Matter shirts‼️ pic.twitter.com/jCriRW2wbp
— RapTV (@Rap) October 3, 2022
Despite receiving backlash for promoting the message, he has doubled down on his position, adding in an Instagram post on Tuesday: “Everyone knows that Black Lives Matter was a scam now it’s over you’re welcome.”
Adidas just announced they have placed their partnership with Kanye West “under review” after his “White Lives Matter” stunt.
Last month, Kanye ended his partnership with GAP.@Forbes reported that if Kanye loses his Adidas partnership too, he will no longer be a billionaire. pic.twitter.com/GYsO1MISGQ
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 6, 2022
He also took part in an interview on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, where he went into depth about the situation.
Ultimately he said the matter was one of faith.
“I don’t care about what people’s response is, but I care about the fact that there are more black babies being aborted than born in New York City at this point. That 50% of black death in America is abortion. So I really don’t care about people’s response to that. I perform for an audience of one, and that’s God,” West told Carlson.
West later added, “God is preparing us for the real battles. We are in a battle with the media. The majority of the media has a godless agenda, and they are like, ‘Ye is crazy.’ They don’t work because the media have also watched travesties happen, even specifically to me. Just watch it and act like it wasn’t happening and they stay quiet about it.”
