Jay Z Turns on Occupy Wall Street, Calls Demonization of Rich 'Un-American'

Jay Z Turns on Occupy Wall Street, Calls Demonization of Rich 'Un-American'

It’s pretty clear Jay-Z was never fully on board with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Sure, he tried to piggyback on OWS initially by creating a line of movement-related T-shirts, but he couldn’t quite understand why people would be aghast at him not sharing in the profits.

Disconnect, part one.

Now, Jay-Z is speaking out against OWS, roasting its lack of focus and “un-American” castigation of the rich. Here’s the rap king recalling a conversation he had with full-throated OWS supporter Russell Simmons:

“I don’t know what the fight is about. What do we want? Do you know?” 

The hip-hop sensation also disapproves of how Occupiers slam the entire one-percent as being society’s problem.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, transformed himself from a poverty-stricken crack dealer to a multimillionaire music mogul and co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets.He said Occupy Wall Street’s blanket demonization of the rich is un-American. 

“I think all those things need to really declare themselves a bit more clearly because when you just say that ‘the 1 percent is that,’ that’s not true,” he said. 

So … why did Jay-Z embrace the movement in the first place? Was he simply following along with his fellow elites without fully thinking it through? Did he surf New Media sites and see the ugliest aspects of OWS? Or, did his entrepreneurial side prevent him from being immune to the group’s potpourri of toxic messages?

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