Snoop Dogg made the homophobic remarks less than a day after the AFL insisted he has ‘changed’. (Getty)
The AFL insisted its partnership with Snoop Dogg won’t come with any baggage less than 24 hours before the rapper made anti-LGBTQ+ remarks about a children’s movie.
The Daily Mail reports that Andrew Dillon, chief executive of the Australian Football League (AFL), defended paying the controversial 53-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, $2 million to perform at its Grand Final in September despite his past anti-gay comments.
Speaking on Thursday (21 August), Dillon said it was important for people to recognise Snoop Dogg as the “person he is today,” adding that the AFL could not vouch for “every lyric in every song ever written or performed by any artist who has or will appear on our stage.”
Just hours later, the Snoop Dogg of today began complaining about LGBTQ+ representation in films and TV, saying he doesn’t watch things “for this s**t.”
AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon. (Getty)
Speaking on the It’s Giving podcast, he recalled watching the Toy Story spin-off Lightyear, which features a same-sex kiss, with his grandson, who asked him: “Papa Snoop, how she have a baby with a woman? She’s a woman.”
“Aw s**t, I didn’t come for this s**t, I came here to watch the goddamn movie,” he remarked. “Y’all throwing me in the middle of this s**t that I don’t have an answer for … it threw me for a loop.”
Snoop Dogg went on to say he is frightened to watch movies now over fears he might have to acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people and their relationships.
He further complained that the completely appropriate kiss was featured in a kids’ film, saying: “These kids … [do] we have to show that at that age? They’re going to ask questions. I don’t have the answer.”
The rapper, who further complained that LGBTQ+ representation is “everywhere,” also prominently appears in the adult comedy show Trailer Park Boys, which famously features a same-sex relationship between Sunnyvale trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey and resident, Randy.
Prior to the artist making the comments, Dillon insisted that Snoop Dogg has changed over the years, saying: “Today, he is a grandfather, philanthropist, he helps rehabilitate youth, and he’s a global entertainer who has performed at both the Super Bowl and the Olympic closing ceremony to audiences of more than 100 million people.
“In those environments, his performances were appropriate and well-received, and his performance this year at our grand final will be fitting for the best sporting event in the country.”
AFL issues reduced suspension for player who used a homophobic slur
Their comments came on the same day the AFL granted Adelaide Football Club player Izak Rankine a reduced suspension for “medical” reasons after he used a homophobic slur during a game last weekend.
Snoop Dogg’s 1998 hit “Doggz Gonna Get Ya” features the same slur, ‘f****t’, that Rankine used.
Rankine was given a four-match ban instead of a previously proposed five-game suspension after his club reported that the player had used the anti-LGBTQ+ slur during a game against Collingwood Football Club.
Dillon defended the decision in a statement, saying the club made a “compelling medical submission” on behalf of Rankine, which brought his suspension down.
Adelaide CEO, Tim Silvers, failed to clarify the medical considerations, but said he was a “little nervous for him.”
“He put himself into this position, and he’s deeply remorseful and regrets what he said, but he’s doing it pretty tough,” he said. “He basically hasn’t left his house for the last few days.”
Rankine apologised via a press release, saying he regretted using the word and was “very sorry for doing so.”
“That type of language has no place in football or the community,” he went on. “It was a mistake and I have apologised to the Collingwood player, and what happened does not reflect my values or those of the Club.”
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