Why Charlamagne Tha God Apologized To Kwame Brown
On the May 24 episode of "The Breakfast Club," radio host Charlamagne Tha God took the time to apologize to retired NBA player Kwame Brown. During his "Donkey of the Day" segment, Charlamagne decided to give the playful award to someone unexpected. "It goes ... to myself, Lenard McKelvey," he told listeners.
Then, he proceeded to explain why. "I want to apologize to Kwame Brown and Kwame Brown's family," he said. "I want to apologize to his father Bill Brown and the family of Bill Brown. In my attempt to defend a Charleston, South Carolina brother, I revealed too much information about that man's family." He also said the "unintentionally triggered trauma" to a lot of folks, causing "a lot of pain," not only to Brown and his family. "When I look back on the way that I communicated that, I communicated that all wrong."
Elsewhere in his speech, Charlamagne told people to "leave Kwame alone," adding that the former basketball player may be going through something. "You don't know what people are going through or have been through." But what sparked Charlamagne's on-air apology to Brown? Scroll down for all the details.
Charlamagne Tha God aired out private details about Kwame Brown's family
On a recent episode of "All The Smoke," Stephen Jackson, Matt Barnes, and Gilbert Arenas discussed Kwame Brown's basketball skills. In particular, Arenas called him a "show pony," insinuating that Michael Jordan crushed his confidence on the basketball field (via Complex). Since the show airs on a Charlamagne Tha God-affiliated network, the "Breakfast Club" host decided to chime in to take up for Brown ... and failed.
While telling people to leave Brown alone, Charlamagne discussed personal details about his family, like how Brown's father is serving life in prison for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and burying her alive. He also revealed that one of Brown's brothers attempted suicide after shooting the mother of his child, while another is in prison for murder.
Naturally, this was all very triggering for Brown, who took to social media to vent his frustration. During his Instagram Live session, Brown slammed Charlamagne for airing out his business, while bringing up the radio hosts' controversial past, such as a 2001 charge of sexual assault against a minor (via Billboard).
"You want to talk as if you know me," Kwame told viewers. "Rape case guy Charlamagne Tha God, that actually pled guilty and got away with that. You want to talk about a brother that I never met because my father had a son outside of his marriage just like DJ Envy's cheating a**. So you gonna put out to the world like I'm some killer?" (Charlamagne ultimately pled guilty to a lesser charge and the rape charge was dismissed, per Billboard.)
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).