Reebok Drops Rick Ross Over Controversial Lyrics
Reebok has just given Rick Ross the boot. Following his controversial lyrics, the company has decided to part ways with the Miami rapper.
The Maybach Music boss faced heat for referencing date rate on Rocko’s song “U.O.E.N.O.” Rozay talks about slipping a molly in a woman’s drink and taking her home. “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know,” he raps.
After facing pressure from the public and women’s rights group UltraViolet, Reebok made the decision to drop Ross as its spokesman.
“Reebok holds our partners to a high standard, and we expect them to live up to the values of our brand. Unfortunately, Rick Ross has failed to do so,” Reebok tells TMZ.
They continued, “While we do not believe that Rick Ross condones sexual assault, we are very disappointed he has yet to display an understanding of the seriousness of this issue or an appropriate level of remorse.”
UltraViolet staged a protest outside Reebok’s New York flagship store demanding that they fire Ross. They also organized a “Drop Rick Ross” petition, which collected nearly 100,000 signatures.
“We are thrilled to hear that Reebok is joining the fight against rape culture and dropping Rick Ross,” said UltraViolet co-founder Nita Chaudhary. “This is a huge victory for women, for the 526 survivors of rape who were brave enough to publicly confront rape culture, and for the nearly 100,000 UltraViolet members who have poured their hearts and time into this campaign. This sends a strong message that rapping about drugging and raping an unconscious woman is not only morally wrong, but has real consequences. After Steubenville, Americans expect and demand better. Thank you Reebok for taking a stand.”
Prior to his dismissal, Ross issued an apology on Twitter. “I dont condone rape.Apologies for the #lyric interpreted as rape. #BOSS,” he tweeted. “Apologies to my many business partners,who would never promote violence against women.”
His peers including Earl Sweatshirt reacted to the news on Twitter. “This rick ross shit is ridiculous this ni**a has been a prominent cocaine / mass murder rap bro since i was like 10 wtf fuck reebok,” wrote the Odd Future rapper.