Ludacris

Controversies

Bill O'Reilly:

On August 27, 2002, Bill O'Reilly called for all Americans to boycott Pepsi products, due to O'Reilly's opinion that Ludacris' lyrics glamorize a "life of guns, violence, drugs and disrespect of women".

On August 28, 2002, O'Reilly reported that Pepsi had fired Luda. O'Reilly later denied his call for a boycott when challenged on his show, claiming that he merely said he wasn't going to drink any Pepsi products.

Furthering the Pepsi controversy, in response to the signing of the Osbourne family, popular hip-hop music mogul Russell Simmons organized a boycott against the company. Simmons demanded an apology from Pepsi to Ludacris and a 5 million dollar donation to one of his charities. Eventually Simmons and Pepsi settled on an agreement to stop the boycott, right before it was to officially begin. While Pepsi did not formally apologize to Ludacris, they did agree to donate millions of dollars over several years to Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.

Ludacris' song "Blow It Out" (from the Chicken & Beer album) acted as a response to his critics, namely Bill O'Reilly.
"Shout out to Bill O'Reilly, I'ma throw you a curve
You're mad cause I'm a thief and got a way with words
I'ma start my own beverage, it'll calm your nerves
Pepsi's the new generation? Blow it out..."

Upon winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album on February 11, 2007, Ludacris included in his thank-yous a "special shout-out to Bill O'Reilly".

The following day O'Reilly responded on his show with a less than enthusiastic reaction. He soon began criticizing Ludacris' Grammy win.

Oprah Winfrey:
In a 2006 interview with GQ magazine, Oprah Winfrey criticized Ludacris about his appearance on her show with the cast of the film Crash. During the interview, the conversation veered from the movie and Winfrey chose to speak on Ludacris' lyrical content, which he felt was unfair as he was visiting her show in the capacity of an actor and not a rapper. Also, Ludacris was upset that some of his responses were later edited from the show's airing. He was later joined by other rappers, such as 50 Cent, Ice Cube, and Killer Mike, who argued that Winfrey has an anti-hip hop bias.

Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women", but enjoys some artists, including Jay-Z and Kanye West, who have appeared on her show. She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance to explain her position and said she understood that his music was for entertainment purposes, but that some of his listeners might take it literally.[ citation needed ] Ludacris later said the media had blown his comments out of proportion and said he respects Winfrey and considers her "a great individual". At the 2007 Grammy awards, Ludacris gave a special shout-out to Oprah Winfrey. On "Freedom of Preach", a song off his album, "Release Therapy", he asked God to "forgive Oprah for editing most my comments out of her show".

Discography: