Lupe Fiasco kicked off stage for anti-Obama rant at inauguration bash

What is a “Lupe Fiasco?”

— Kev(@KevDough) January 21, 2013

Heh. Lupe Fiasco is a rapper not known for being a shrinking violet. Fiasco performed at an inauguration party last night and was kicked off the stage after speaking ill of President Obama. How dare he criticize The One?

The poster for the inaugural event which @lupefiasco was removed from after anti-Obama statements. HE WAS HEADLINING. twitter.com/ARBassa/status…

— Abdul-Rehaman Bassa (@ARBassa) January 21, 2013

Event attendees, including Foreign Policy magazine’s Josh Rogin, reported from on the scene.

Lupe Fiasco just got thrown off stage here at the Hamilton Live after he went on an anti-Obama diatribe mid set.

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) January 21, 2013

So Lupe played one anti-war song for 30 min and said he didn’t vote for Obama and eventually was told to move on to the next song.

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) January 21, 2013

Lupe refused to move to the next song so a team of security guards came on stage and told him to go.

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) January 21, 2013

OMG RT @neda_semnani: Lupe fiasco being shown off stage #cheering #booing #inaug2013 twitter.com/Neda_Semnani/s…

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 21, 2013

What the rapper do and say?

UPDATE: Rapper Lupe Fiasco played 1 anti-war song for 30 min; said he didn’t vote for Obama & eventually was thrown off stage – @joshrogin

— NewsBreaker (@newsbreaker) January 21, 2013

@lupefiasco rapped “Words I Never Said” at Obamas inauguration party haha “Gaza Strip was gettin bombed, Obama didnt say shit”

— MAsilvestri (@MikeWizHouseKey) January 21, 2013

@zahirj “Limbaugh was a racist, Glenn Beck was a racist, Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit”- Lupe Fiasco

— Ashwini Mishra (@AListRap) January 21, 2013

Lupe Fiasco played one anti-war song for 30 min and said he didn’t vote for #Obama and eventually was told to move on to the next song. #PT

— Tamaraتمارا (@_Syriana_) January 21, 2013

Things going terribly wrong at @lupefiasco performance during #SURO. Kicked off stage, bashing obama.

— Matt Dornic(@mdornic) January 21, 2013

So you mean to tell me for 30 minutes straight no one was even listening to what he was saying.. incredible. Lupe

— Sy (@ladysysy) January 21, 2013

Heh. Yes, they did. And Twitter continued to buzz over the rapper all night.

Corporate sponsors that Lupe fiasco just gave the finger to AFLAC, Heineken,Microsoft, CEA #inaug2013 also @barackobama

— Neda Semnani (@Neda_Semnani) January 21, 2013

Breaking news: Lupe Fiasco booted off@startuprockon inaugural party after repeating same Words I Never Said (anti-Obama) versefor 30min

— Kippy Joseph (@kippyjoseph) January 21, 2013

So Lupe Fiasco just performed an anti Obama set at an inauguration party in DC… And they say hip hop doesn’t have a message anymore.

— jonathan (@justpriest2) January 21, 2013

Just so everyone is clear. Lupe Fiasco accused Barack Obama of not addressing right-wing racism. That’s why he was kicked off stange, ok?

— Margarita Noriega (@margafret) January 21, 2013

Lupe Fiasco criticizing Obama for not addressing racism instagr.am/p/Uu3d-JjUp4/

— Margarita Noriega (@margafret) January 21, 2013

Picture posted before they gave him the boot. RT@thehamiltondc: @lupefiasco backstage @startuprockon #inauguration twitter.com/thehamiltondc/…

— The DC Standard (@TheDCStandard) January 21, 2013

@lupefiasco is live! #suro twitter.com/thehamiltondc/…

— The Hamilton (@thehamiltondc) January 21, 2013

@lupe Fiasco blowin it up at StartUp RockOn. fb.me/1qAl85ZSk

— The Hamilton (@thehamiltondc) January 21, 2013

Chris Geidner, a BuzzFeed reporter, clutches pearls and thinks it was oh-so-tacky.

@chrisgeidner @bendreyfuss tacky indeed. But they didn’t ask him to be a sunflower. He came as a human being.

— Margarita Noriega (@margafret) January 21, 2013

And the event organizer wasn’t so excited afterward.

Disappointed that an artist took opportunity to use an event celebrating innovation/startups to make a political statement. #StartUpRockOn

— hypervocal (@hypervocal) January 21, 2013

Then tries to deny the reason for the booting.

Lupe Fiasco was not kicked off stage for an anti-Obama rant. OFFICIAL STATEMENT from organizers here: hypervocal.com/news/2013/lupe…

— hypervocal (@hypervocal) January 21, 2013

Again: Official statement on Lupe Fiasco performance hypervocal.com/news/2013/lupe… Not about free speech. About crowd dissastisfaction at prvt event

— hypervocal (@hypervocal) January 21, 2013

Oh, it was just about crowd (a cheering crowd) dissatisfaction, you see. Blogger SooperMexican points out some hypocrisy there.

Event Organizer @hypervocal w background image mocking @anndromney assures you they didn’t squelch anti-Obama speech: soopermexican.com/2013/01/21/rap…

— El SOOPer!! (@SooperMexican) January 21, 2013

Oh you filthy liberals are so quick to whine when people protest against you, and so happy to support those to criticize your political opponents at any event…

Ding, ding, ding! Others point out the hilarity of the organizers being “disappointed.” Do they not know who Lupe Fiasco is?

Lupe Fiasco proving that there is room for politics and punk in hip hop.I’m amazed that he was booked given his public anti-war position.

— RCS (@ryan_simmonds) January 21, 2013

Was White house surprised that Lupe Fiasco, who has called Obama a “terrorist” before, would use #inauguration as place to speak his mind?

— jay cowit (@jaycowit) January 21, 2013

Lupe Fiasco at pro-Obama event. Next: inviting Redman to anti-pot event. Dumbasses…

— b psycho (@bpsycho1) January 21, 2013

They booked Lupe Fiasco for the presidential inauguration? Have they heard his lyrics?

— Callum Ayoola (@C_Ayoola) January 21, 2013

Lupe Fiasco proving that there is room for politics and punk in hip hop.I’m amazed that he was booked given his public anti-war position.

— RCS (@ryan_simmonds) January 21, 2013

It’s funny that people are upset that Lupe said what he said. He’s been critical of Obama since 2007. That tiger went tiger.

— dascruggs (@dascruggs) January 21, 2013

Why’d you hire Lupe Fiasco to be on stage for an Obama Inauguration celebration? Either it was done for a reason or they just plain stupid.

— Saif (@NinjaSaif) January 21, 2013

Had the event organizers read Twitchy or, you know, googled, they would have know. Here’s a heads-up for next time:

Or, his Wikipedia page.

Interestingly, Lupe Fiasco’s wikipedia page says he thinks “the biggest terrorist is Obama & the USA” – @samirtwitter.com/samir/status/2…

— NewsBreaker (@newsbreaker) January 21, 2013

Some Twitter users bring up freedom of speech.

the took lupe fiasco off the stage because he was singing an anti war and anti obama song. wtf happened to freedom of speech

— Mr Rager(@SUPERCUDER) January 21, 2013

my homeboy #Lupe man.I thought we were protected by the 1st amendment, they cant do that. at least he speaks the truth unlike politics

— Jose Hu$tla (@Cabeza_De_Huevo) January 21, 2013

Given his place and time wasn’t the best, he still has freedom of speech, but apparently not #Lupe

— Kaleb Johnson(@iHadUAtHello) January 21, 2013

It was a private event, so that doesn’t apply. However, other Twitter users point out the hypocrisy. When was the last time a performer was booted for rants against Republican politicians or policies? It’s only frowned upon, to the point where one is booted from the stage, if aimed at The One.

It’s okay for Kanye to diss George Bush. But it’s not okay for Lupe Fiasco to do the same to Obama. #DoubleStandards

— Wandile Hlophe (@The_Wavatar) January 21, 2013

Kanye calls Bush racist on live tv and its cool, but Lupe Fiasco speaks his mind and he gets thrown off stage. A lot of respect for Lupe

— Fist Impression (@FistImpression) January 21, 2013

How dare a musician criticize a politician! MT @joshrogin Lupe Fiasco thrown off stage after he went on an anti-Obama diatribe mid set.

— Jon Gabriel (@ExJon) January 21, 2013

Hate when celebs get political onstage, right Kanye? MT @joshrogin: Lupe Fiasco got thrown off stage after he went on an anti-Obama diatribe

— Chelsea (@chelseagrunwald) January 21, 2013

Duuuuude! RT @kgtrend: Lupe Fiasco’s stunt just topped Kanye’s.

— Mancheleng Mawasha(@manchiee) January 21, 2013

Bingo. And these folks sum it all up with signature Twitter snark.

So, apparently Lupe Fiasco, performing at some inaugural event in DC, has commited lèse majesté and has been booted off his own stage.

— Jayvie Canono (@OneFineJay) January 21, 2013

TREASON. MT @kerikaeindc So, @lupefiasco rips on Obama during performance & he’s shut down. Security escorted him offstage, cameras in face.

— Jon Gabriel (@ExJon) January 21, 2013

#NationalDayOfService rt @joshroginLupe Fiasco just got thrown off stage here at the Hamilton Live ter he went on an anti-Obama diatribe

— S.M (@redsteeze) January 21, 2013

Wonder if Lupe Fiasco will be tossed in the same cell as that YouTube video maker.

— Jon Gabriel (@ExJon) January 21, 2013

Hmm. Stay tuned!

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2013/01/21/paging-kanye-rapper-lupe-fiasco-kicked-off-stage-for-anti-obama-rant-at-inauguration-bash/

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