A new rap video from Snoop Dogg has stirred controversy with its mock execution of a clown dressed as President Donald Trump. The video for ‘Lavender’
A new rap video from Snoop Dogg has stirred controversy with its mock execution of a clown dressed as President Donald Trump. The video for ‘Lavender’ (Nightfall Remix) ft. Kaytranada and Snoop Dogg dropped this past weekend and features the rapper and a cast of clowns, including one played by actor Michael Rapaport. Snoop’s video takes on hot button issues including police shootings. But the most controversial aspect of it is a clown dubbed ‘Ronald Klump.’
In a mock breaking news clip, Klump is seen at a ‘Clown House’ press conference where the TV news crawl reads “Ronald Klump wants to deport all doggs.”
Later, Snoop Dogg is seen firing a fake pistol at Klump as he stands with his hands raised. The Klump character also appears at the end of the video, in chains.
But President Donald Trump would have none of that and took aim at Snoop Dogg, saying the rap star would have gotten jail time had he pointed his gun at Barack Obama rather than him in a video.
“Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Also one member of Congress is not thrilled about the rapper’s creativity. Senator Marco Rubio said Snoop Dogg shouldn’t have taken aim at Trump in the video.
“We’ve had presidents assassinated before in this country, so anything like that is something people should be really careful about,” Rubio said. “I think people can disagree on policy, but we’ve got to be careful about that kind of thing because the wrong person sees that and gets the wrong idea and you could have a real problem.”
In defense, the rapper said he has several issues with the new president — everything from his election to the proposed travel ban.
“It’s a lot of clown s*** going on that we could just sit and talk on the phone all day about, but it’s a few issues that we really wanted to lock into [for the video] like police, the president and just life in general,” Snoop said.
He added that he didn’t make the four and a half minute long video, which was directed by Jesse Wellens and James DeFina, to elicit a reaction from either Trump or his critics.
“I just put it out because I feel like it’s something that’s missing,” he said. “Any time I drop something, I’m trying to fill in a void.”
Snoop Dogg is an early figure in California gangsta rap who has mellowed in recent years. He was one of the leading rappers of the 1990s with hits such as ‘What’s My Name?’ and ‘Gin & Juice.’ In recent years, he has shed his gangsta image, branching out into reggae, starring in multiple television series and pursuing a marijuana business.
