Country star Shaboozey walked back his anti-ICE “immigrants built this country” Grammys rant after Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter led left-wing backlash in response to it.
On Sunday, Shaboozey declared, “Immigrants built this country” after winning the Grammy for best country duo/group performance for “Amen” with Jelly Roll, adding, “So this is for them, for all children of immigrants.”
“This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be a part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it,” the “A Bar Song” singer continued.
“Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions here. You give America color,” he added.
Notably, Shaboozey’s remarks appeared to be a part of the wider “ICE out” message expressed by celebrities at the Grammy Awards, where woke rapper Bad Bunny — who in October refused to stand for “God Bless America” at a Yankee’s game — set the tone.
After Shaboozey delivered his comments, Bernice King — Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest child — took to X, suggesting that descendants of slaves are excluded whenever someone goes on an “immigrants built this country” rant.
“It’s #BlackHistoryMonth and I have to ask: Are people including enslaved Africans, descendants of those enslaved, and Black people whose unjust, low-wage labor sustained the economy in the 1800s/1900s as immigrants when they say ‘immigrants built this country’?” King wrote.
“Because chattel slavery was for the express purpose of building empire,” King continued. “But our ancestors weren’t folks who came here seeking a better life. They arrived in chains, were bred like cattle, and severely violated, sexually and otherwise.”
“Their trauma shouldn’t be diminished or forgotten, even in efforts toward freedom from ICE’s inhumane, violent tactics,” she added. “We can only get to justice for all when truth is taught, embraced, and spoken.”
King’s remarks sparked left-wing backlash against Shaboozey, who took to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday to announce that he wanted to “acknowledge the conversation surrounding my acceptance speech,” according to a report by TMZ.
“To be clear, I know and believe that we — black people, have also built this country,” the “Let It Burn” singer continued. “My words were never intended to dismiss that truth.”
“I am both a black man and the son of Nigerian immigrants and in the overwhelming moment of winning my first Grammy my focus was on honoring the sacrifices my parents made by coming to this country to give me and my siblings opportunities they never had,” Shaboozey added.
The “Last of My Kind” singer went on to declare that his Grammy win itself also equates to “black history.”
“Winning this award on the first day of Black History Month and becoming the first black man to win Best Country Duo is black history,” Shaboozey asserted. “It stands on the foundation laid by generations of black people who fought, sacrificed, and succeeded long before me.”
“This moment belongs to all of us,” he added.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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