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Stormzy accuses media of 'spinning words for clickbait' after 'UK is 100% racist' comment goes viral

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Dec 25, 2019, 02:14 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica last week, Stormzy when asked if the UK was still racist today reportedly said, “definitely, 100%”.

British rapper Stormzy known for his classic grime beats has invited controversy over his racist comment after he was accused of calling the UK “100% racist”. He defended himself calling the whole episode a case of being “misquoted”. 

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica last week, Stormzy when asked if the UK was still racist today reportedly said, “definitely, 100%”. When pressed to elaborate, he said that the UK was more hidden in its racism than Italy but things had worsened under the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

After his comment was carried on by UK broadcasters, he was trolled online. To this, he came out in the open and said that they misquoted him and he never said this. He retweeted ITV’s story that was headlined "Rapper Stormzy says UK is '100 percent' racist"  as he wrote, "ITV you lot can suck my d**k for this."

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He also tweeted, "All you publications and media outlets that are intentionally spinning my words for some clickbait can suck my d**k and please don't try beg it in the future."

All you publications and media outlets that are intentionally spinning my words for some clickbait can suck my dick and please don’t try beg it in the future

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ITV News responded to the criticism, apologising to Stormzy for "any misunderstanding." They issued a statement: "On Saturday we reported on an interview by an Italian newspaper with the British rapper Stormzy in which the subject of racism in the UK was discussed," and noted that Stormzy's response was reproduced in full on its website. 

They added, "Despite this, it was felt the headline at the top of this story on our website and the Twitter post did not reflect these comments fully and was therefore amended ... We would like to apologise to Stormzy for any misunderstanding.”