Kodak Black walks out of interview after Ebro mentions sexual assault case
Radio presenter later defended his questions in the interview, saying he did not want to ignore the 'serious allegations' against the 21-year-old rapper
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US rapper Kodak Black left an interview with Hot 97 after one of the presenters brought up the pending sexual assault case against him.
15 minutes into the conversation, presenter Ibrahim "Ebro" Darden broached the subject without mentioning the details of the ongoing case, but stated "we take sexual assault here serious" and that he hoped to have Kodak return to the show to talk about it in greater depth.
In a video clip of the interview, Black is shown during the uncomfortable silence that follows Ebro's comment, after which his fellow presenter Peter Rosenberg asks him whether he believes the 1969 moon landing happened.
Kodak replies: "What the f*** y'all talkin' about?" When Ebro notes he looks uncomfortable he says: "I feel like sometimes, when n****s like me are going through s**t, y'all be entertained. Like, change the subject... talk about something else."
Ebro replies that if there's nothing left to discuss, the interview could be over. Kodak responds by getting up from his chair and walking out of the studio.
In 2017, Kodak was indicted on a sexual assault charge that allegedly took place at a hotel in Florida in February 2016. He is accused of raping a woman who attended one of his performances, and later accompanied him to his hotel room. He allegedly told her he "couldn't help himself" and is accused of biting her repeatedly and sexually assaulting her.
Ebro posted a series of messages on Twitter after the tense exchange, explaining he was "tryna [sic[] have a balanced convo with Kodak Black & not ignore the serious allegations against him but also not ask specifics to make his situation worse... and he wanna get an attitude with me?? Nah..."
Kodak's trial is scheduled to begin in April 2019.