Anyone who follows popular culture knows that musician John Mayer has a tendency to talk too much. He did it while breaking up with Jennifer Aniston and continues to run his mouth during his March 2010 interview with Playboy, now available online. During the Q&A, Mayers makes multiple racial missteps, including using the N-word, declaring that black people love him, trying to define blackness and calling his penis a "white supremacist."
Mayer commits his first racial faux pas when asked to discuss the perception that he's a jerk (the magazine uses a more crude term) and Mayer essentially answers that the perception exists because he's very intense. "But I think the world needs a little very," he continues. "That's why black people love me."
Really, black people love John Mayer? Is he some sort of civil rights icon? Is his music in heavy rotation on so-called urban stations? Mayer offers no explanation for why blacks supposedly dig him so much. But Playboy contributing editor Rob Tannenbaum tries to fill in the blanks by mentioning that rappers such as Common, Kanye West and Jay-Z have all worked with Mayer. How three rappers collaborating with Mayer translates into all black people loving him, I don't know. Jay-Z, for one, has also collaborated with Chris Martin of "Coldplay" and "Linkin Park." Kanye West has collaborated with Lady Gaga and Daft Punk. And Common has a history of trying to make music out of the box (his "Electric Circus" album being a prime example.) Given this, do black people love Mayer, or have black rappers with a history of working with white recording artists simply decided to add him to their long list of collaborators.
After declaring black people's adoration for him, Mayer drops the N-bomb. He tells Playboy:
"Someone asked me the other day, 'What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?' And by the way, it's sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a n_ _ _ _r pass. ...But I said, 'I can't really have a hood pass. I've never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, 'We're full.'"
Apparently, a hood pass is when a white person gains credibility with the black community. If Mayer had a hood pass, I think it's safe to say he lost it after the Playboy interview appeared online.
When Mayer attempts to define what blackness is, he doesn't say anything particularly offensive, but the fact that he--a highly privileged white male with no background studying race--feels comfortable doing so reveals his arrogance.
"What is being black?" he asks. "It's making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that's seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you'll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude's."
Huh? The last line doesn't gel for me. I guess it's because I don't understand what Mayer's struggle is. In other sections of the article, he discusses loving Jennifer Aniston, being sexually addicted to Jessica Simpson and grappling with fame, among other issues. Are these the struggles "similar to one black dude's?"
Mayer saves his most inflammatory racial remarks when asked if black women throw themselves at him. He answers that he doesn't open himself up to that, explaining:
"My d__k is sort of like a white supremacist. I've got a Benetton heart and a f____n' David Duke c__k. I'm going to start dating separately from my d__k."
Um, okay. At first, this reads as if Mayer is giving a roundabout explanation for not being attracted to black chicks. But when Tannenbaum presses Mayer to name black women he finds appealing, he says:
"I always thought Holly Robinson Peete was gorgeous. Every white dude loved Hilary from 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.' And Kerry Washington. She's superhot, and she's also white-girl crazy. Kerry Washington would break your heart like a white girl."
In one comment, Mayer manages to generalize about white men and women, alike. Really, all white guys loved the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's" Karyn Parsons, and all white girls have a certain way of breaking guys' hearts? Lastly, his comment does little to explain why he believes his penis is a white supremacist. If Mayer is attracted to black women--as he indicates he is--but doesn't date them, wouldn't his heart be white supremacist and his penis be integrationist? After all, he stated earlier that he's not open to black women coming on to him.
Of course now that the Playboy article is out and has created a firestorm, Mayer has backtracked from his comments.
"I am sorry that I used the N-word. And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself," Mayer said in a tweet late on Wednesday, ABC reported. "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged."
Mayer also vowed not to say the word again and to be more reserved in interviews. So far, he's remained mum on his white supremacist private parts, however.
Your thoughts?
Comments
Lol, isn’t it obvious? John Mayer is a white supremacist
John Mayer needs to grow up and shut up. If he’s not attracted to black chicks, he could’ve just said that verses bringing up the white supremacist comment.. one had nothing to do with the other.. as far as I’m concerned he can take his tiny little pink white supremacist d*ck and jump off a bridge.
I am a black woman and I never liked Mayer. His music is not to my taste either. I believe he was attempting to be clever. It’s ok that he does not like black women. However, his expressions of his views were odd.
I am so disappointed I like his music, my daughter turned me on to him. To see that he used the “N” word in a derogatory way bothers me. He has several black people in his band how can he say that and expect them to be 100 percent behind him. If they stay it is only for the money like I go work each day. I would hope they all not show for a concert so that he can be humiliated. I am hurt by his statements that I have read here. He has lost a fan because each time I hear his music from now on I will think of the things that he has said.
Booo on you John Mayer and I do not accept your apology. We are in 2010 and you say stupid stuff like that embrace your followers. But I am sure you know by now that you have lost a ton of fans black, white and I am sure many other races. Shame on you.
Who is John Mayer?
cmon…as insensetive, stupid and politically incorrect the comments may be…they’re still pretty funny and harmless. The guy is clearly not a racist…just an immature dude…loving all the fame and attention that world has given him. So what. who cares.
Ummm, let’s see:
MARGINALLY talented singer / songwriter(?)- check
Incoherently babbling bonehead- check
Gaining much more attention than he EVER should- check
Did I miss anything?
I think John Meyer was trying too hard to make a joke. The joke backfired–big time. Especially with his use of the N-word. But, let’s face it, the N-word has become trendy (think Rap music). I’m an African American male and I’ve heard Filipino teenagers use it without thinking twice. Question is, if there’s a “safer” form of the N-word (as in n**ga), how come other races can’t say it? That’s the question I’ve been asking for years.