Wiz Khalifa Defends 'Korean Eyes' Lyrics, Saying He Has Korean Friends
Wiz Khalifa isn’t backing down from lyrics that many have labeled as racist.
On Tuesday, the rapper appeared on “The Breakfast Club,” a radio show, and defended his song “Hot Now,” from his new album “Rolling Papers 2.” That song includes the line “Smoke got my eyes lookin’ Korean” ― a lyric that didn’t sit well with the Asian-American community.
In the interview, Wiz Khalifa, born Cameron Thomaz, told critics to “chill out,” adding that he’s “not a racist.” When host Charlamagne Tha God asked if the artist was interested in apologizing to the Korean community, Wiz said he wasn’t.
“I have Korean friends that are not offended. I don’t know those people who are saying that,” he said.
TMZ asked the rapper Tyga, who’s of Vietnamese descent, what he thought of Wiz’s line. Tyga responded: “What’s wrong with that?”
But the lyric has drawn a great deal of backlash from the Asian-American community ― particularly since painful comments and gestures about their eyes have long been used to insult the group.
Last year, Houston Astros player Yuli Gurriel used the “slant eyes” gesture to refer to then-Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, who’s Japanese-Iranian, after Gurriel hit a home run off Darvish’s pitch. In May, a woman in Fremont, California, made a “slant eyes” gesture and yelled “Chinese ugly” at a Korean-American serviceman when she wanted him to move out of the way.
“Smoke got my eyes lookin’ Korean” - a line in ‘Hot Now’ by Wiz Khalifa
If you don’t find anything wrong with this line, unfollow me right now. Discrimination & racism against Asians has been going for many years w/o anyone batting an eye and I am tired of it.— elise 🌹 (@lovxlise) July 16, 2018
I hope ppl know that @wizkhalifa wrote in his new song "Hot":
"Smoke got my eyes lookin' Korean"
which is racist. So I hope all people regardless of their race would help with raising awareness with the hashtagtrend of #WizKhalifaShouldApologize
say NO to any kind of racism— ChickenSmugglerMyungsoo (@CHICkenDealerL) July 15, 2018
Wiz Khalifa's "Hot Now" is bullshit.
"smoke got my eyes lookin' Korean"
Racist, much? People complain about racial stereotypes, but freaking Wiz Khalifa does it right under the public's nose and because you can't be racist towards Asians, apparently, it's totally cool.— mmmbluey (@mmmbluey2) July 15, 2018
So why ain't twitter after Wiz Khalifa for saying "Smoke got my eyes lookin' Korean."?
Is that not racist enough for y'all? pic.twitter.com/XVHXL2Quoo— Tyler (@w1ndyy) July 16, 2018
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.