In an interview with Vulture Erykah touched on a lot topics regarding her music, opinions, and outlook on life. Badu said she had traveled to Palestine during a time when the working title of one of her albums was “Saviours’ Day,” which is both her birthday and a Nation of Islam holiday. The interviewer asked if Badu believes in Louis Farrakhan to which she replied: “I’ll follow anyone who has positive aspects. He single-handedly changed half of the Nation of Islam to clean eating, clean living, caring for their families.” She added: “I’m a humanist. I see good in everybody, I saw something good in Hitler. “Hitler was a wonderful painter,” she said.
Badu responded to the backlash in a series of Tweets:
People are in real pain. So I understand why my 'good' intent was misconstrued as 'bad'. In trying to express a point, I used 1 of the worst examples possible, Not to support the cruel actions of an unwell, psychopathic Adolf Hitler, but to only exaggerate a show of compassion.
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 25, 2018
Either U read the entire VULTURE interview & U understood the message of compassion CLEARLY.
OR U only read the selective, out of context Headlines, & were drawn in2 the whirlpool of collective emotional grief. I don't want 2 force U 2understand the way I love. I'm hopeful tho.— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 25, 2018
Voicing honest opinions (even if they are meant to be loving) in such a sensitive world where most of us are victims of some violent past is very dangerous. Even encouraging words can be misinterpreted when taken out of context. Human beings are very delicate. Protect one another
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 26, 2018
