September 3, 2024
Tyrese says the bill’s passing over any other legislation for other minorities makes Black people seem “disposable” to the Biden Harris administration.
Tyrese has some concerns over the COVID-19 Hate Crime Bill, falsely stating the law only protects Asian people.
On Sept.2, the entertainer took to Instagram Live with civil rights attorney Ben Crump to express his thoughts. He spoke on the S.937 Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, which President Biden signed into law in May 2021. In the clips, he alleges that Biden had “skip[ped]” over other identity groups to enact the legislation. The ShadeRoom reposted footage of his conversation.
“President Biden and Kamala Harris signed an Asian Hate Crime law which makes it beyond illegal to ever purposely or maliciously do anything to harm to anybody in the Asian community,” Tyrese said. “And there was a spike in crimes, criminal behavior, in and around covid, allegedly and specifically motivated by Trump. So everybody start treating Asians [by] beating them, killing them, shooting them, stabbing, [and] hurting them. And then [Biden] gets into the White House. [He] skips over every Black and brown [person], Mexican and Latino that have been getting killed like flies, and he makes it a law.”
Tyrese explained that the bill he believes only protects Asian Americans swiftly passed.
He continued, “Where is that same [inaudible] to be signed into the into law when it comes to brown black and brown people because what you’re doing is President Biden and Kamala Harris. What you’re doing is, you’re saying that black and brown people will continue to be disposable.”
Crump then emphasized the importance of Black people getting out the vote to remedy the issue. He thanked Tyrese for his “courage to speak up” about his controversial take.
“That’s why we got to vote, and we got to make sure our voices are heard,” explained the attorney. “…It matters when we speak up and speak truth to power. When we speak what’s on our heart, we will be heard. But first, you got to have the courage to speak up, and that’s why I love you. Tyrese, you speak your heart.”
However, as Tyrese critiqued the current administration’s efforts to protect Black and brown people, some naysayers called him out for spewing misinformation. Journalist Roland Martin did not hold back in his response to the singer’s accusations, detailing that many bills have been passed that protect Black people in America.
“Tyrese, you do not know what you’re talking about,” he began. “That video where you’re talking about an anti-Asian crime bill, that is a lie. Please learn to fact-check before you start talking.”
He referred to these claims as “nonsense.” He debunked that the Covid-19 Hate Crime bill only protected Asian Americans, as it actually includes protections for all minorities.
“I literally have walked through the bill on my show. In the summary, it talks about the attacks on Asian Americans. It is called the covid 19, specifically, just Covid-19,” he added. “If you actually read the bill, which I’ve done on the air multiple times, it does not only apply to Asian Americans. It applies to everybody. So again, Tyrese, you’re wrong. You are 100% wrong. So please, all of you entertainers, when y’all jump out here and make videos and people run with it, I need you to do some verification. Do some fact-checking before you do that.”
Martin then mentioned the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a lynching bill, and a hate crimes bill to protect Black churches from arson as examples of legislation that protected the Black community. He ended his message as a warning for those like Tyrese to confirm the facts before making such accusations.
“Please call somebody before you start spewing stuff you know nothing about.”
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