Killer Mike Talks Grammys Arrest on ‘The View’: “All of My Heroes Have Been in Handcuffs”

Killer Mike is still on a victory lap following a clean sweep at the recent Grammy Awards, and on Monday that tour placed him on a panel at The View.

The rapper, 48, said he was “overwhelmed” after winning three awards during the pre-Grammys telecast, including trophies for best rap song, performance and album. Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Santiago Render, then encouraged viewers to keep their dreams alive.

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“You have to keep whatever 9-year-old, 12-year-old, 15-year-old that is in your head, keep that child alive,” he said. “No matter what you see in the mirror, you’re still that child and your imagination has to be bigger than the room, bigger than the building, bigger than the sky because if you keep your imagination alive, everything is possible. When you limit your imagination, nothing becomes as possible as it could be.”

At that point, The View co-host Sunny Hostin stepped in to address the “other headlines” from Grammy night. The Hollywood Reporter broke the story as the rapper was detained inside Crypto.com Arena following a scuffle with a security guard. Rolling Stone had more details from the situation, citing a source who claimed that Mike pushed a female security guard to the ground after she requested to see his ticket. The woman reportedly suffered injuries to her hands and her fellow security guards stepped into to detain the rapper.

“I’m a former prosecutor,” Hostin reminded him. “I was very upset about it because it was unnecessary and you don’t do that on that special night, especially for what I read about.” She then asked him to reveal details of what happened. “As a prosecutor, you know I can’t say anything about it,” replied Killer Mike, who then actually did reveal a few details beyond what he’s said in recent interviews with GQ, Apple Music 1 live and Atlanta-based Big Tigger Morning Show.

“Backstage was overcrowded, the winners were exuberant, and I think security got a little overzealous. It’s water under the bridge for me,” added Mike, who has also made a name for himself as an activist. “All of my heroes have been in handcuffs — [Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Medgar Evers]. I walked out with the same dignity and respect that I walked in with, and I would implore people to just take that from it. Don’t dwell on the bad stuff.”

Mike then said he was in custody for three hours, during which time police told him that they’ve “never gotten this many phone calls,” and that they considered moving him due to possible protests. “They’re panicked and I’m just kind of sitting there and I begin to invoke thanks. Thank God for bringing me where I was.”

Following the arrest, Mike released a statement in which he also cited “overzealous” security as the reason he was booked. “As you can imagine, there was a lot going and there was some confusion around which door my team and I should enter. We experienced an overzealous security guard, but my team and I have the upmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing.”

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