Kanye West has been in the news a lot as of late. The American rapper has taken a year out from Twitter but is now back with a vengeance and has drawn criticism for his comments on slavery.
The 40-year-old was being interviewed by TMZ when he made the controversial statements which have since been pilloried by many news outlets.
When you hear about slavery for 400 years... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice. You was there for 400 years and it's all of y'all? It's like we're mentally imprisoned.
His statements have been met with widespread scorn and Nice striker Mario Balotelli has also waded into the debate, slating the rapper on his Instagram account:
What kinds of bullshit have come out of your mouth? Really? Slavery was a choice? Brother seriously, who brainwashed you?
West has since backtracked on his initial claims tweeting “Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will. My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved.”
Balotelli has been on the receiving end of racial abuse throughout his career and hinted recently that his omission from the Italian national team is due to his colour.
The Italian recently told Calciomercato that a number of clubs are interested in signing the 27-year-old, but that AC Milan was not one of them:
My future? There are many teams in Italy that follow me.
I can say that Milan is not among those clubs. I would like to return to an Italian club. Milan? It is not possible.
Balotelli has scored 40 goals over his two seasons at Nice, but is expected to leave the Ligue 1 club in the summer transfer window when his contract runs out with the French side. Kanye West's football career has yet to take off, but the musician is set to release two albums over the summer, a solo effort on June 1st and another on the 8th of June, a collaboration with Kid Kudi.
