We know Louis Farrakhan as an outspoken critic of politics (especially conservative politics and any policy that harms African Americans). Now he is also an entertainment critic. Last Sunday he attacked
Rihanna for being "filthy."
Louis Farrakhan openly criticized singer Rihanna for being filthy and scantily clad in an annual speech he gave last Sunday. [Source: The Editors of Boombox. Louis Farrakhan Calls Rihanna's Performance 'Filthy' and her fans 'Swine'
Farrakhan might have had a point when he called Rihanna's performance "filthy," but it is strange to hear him criticizing a fellow African American. Louis Farrakhan is known for being an outspoken political advocate for black rights. While he seems to have a firm grasp of the factual details of Rihanna's performance (she is often, in fact, scantily clad), some blacks might feel betrayed by his criticism. Publicly calling out someone with whom he disagrees is, however, one of his hallmarks.
Louis Farrakhan is an outspoken minister, and has more in common with white Evangelical ministers than people might realize. Farrakhan believes in publicly condemning things he disagrees with, and fellow African Americans are obviously not immune from criticism. In this way, he is similar to his white Evangelical counterparts, who publicly condemn those who act contrary to their views. Yes, his words are offensive -- but they are intended to be so.
Criticizing Rihanna might also have been a cheap way to generate media attention. If we want to get cyncial about Louis Farrakhan's motives, we might note that he has not been receiving a lot of press lately. A public attack on Rihanna could have been carefully calculated to generate some much-needed headlines. On the other hand, how badly does he really need headlines these days? But of course we have no way of knowing what Farrakhan's true motives were.
If Louis Farrakhan's criticism of Rihanna was designed to generate press coverage, it worked; Rihanna tweeted a response to the criticism, and many news outlets are covering the story today.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...pg2.html?cat=2
BTW Rihanna responded via twitter.
A minister says I perform filthy,sat+watched the filth,then called u SWINE for doin the same!Haa,Is that judgment in ur tone? #justgetsbettR.
I certainly don’t think u are swine! But a holy man of God does!!! #swineNavy
I guess America thinks that their terms and labels are the only relevant ones? I don't know.