Public Enemy Denies Flavor Flav’s Claim That He Was Kicked Out Of The Group Over Politics

Despite announcing their split with Flavor Flav in the wake of his refusal to perform at Sunday’s Bernie Sanders rally in Los Angeles, Public Enemy denies that the hype man was “fired” over politics in a new statement addressing the split. Flav angrily excoriated the band on Twitter, questioning the decision to let him go and accusing Chuck D of putting politics over their 35 years of partnership.

In a quick thread of incredulous-sounding tweets, Flav addressed Chuck directly, asking: “Are you kidding me right now???,,,over Bernie Sanders??? You wanna destroy something we’ve built over 35 years OVER POLITICS??” He also clarified that the cease-and-desist letter sent by his lawyers was only meant to correct what he saw as inaccurate marketing of the performance, as Chuck performed with the members of Public Enemy Radio, a spinoff of the original group Chuck started to distance himself from Flav and their drama.

“I didn’t sue you on Friday,” he wrote. “I asked the @berniesanders campaign to correct misleading marketing,,,that’s all it was,,,I’m not your employee,,,i’m your partner,,,you can’t fire me,,,there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.” Finally, he addressed Chuck’s snide suggestion that he enter rehab, explaining, “I’m not on drugs like you’re saying and have been clean for 10 years,,,i have battled addiction before and like millions of other Americans I know the massive toll it takes,,,Chuck you know better than to lie about shit like that,,,,”

In response, Public Enemy issued a statement asserting that Flav was not dismissed due to his refusal to endorse a candidate, but rather that he’s been “on suspension” since 2016 due to skipping various commitments, including live shows, recording sessions, and photo shoots. You can read the statement below:

Public Enemy did not part ways with Flavor Flav over his political views.

Flavor Flav has been on suspension since 2016 when he was MIA from the Harry Belafonte benefit in Atlanta, Georgia. That was the last straw for the group. He had previously missed numerous live gigs from Glastonbury to Canada, album recording sessions and photo shoots. He always chose to party over work.

Public Enemy Radio toured Europe and co-headlined with the Wu-Tang Clan in May 2019 without Flavor. They have also done numerous benefit shows without Flavor. While Public Enemy Radio was moving forward, Flavor Flav was starring on the reality show Growing Up Hip Hop New York, when an episode featured his children discussing an intervention and putting him into rehab.

It’s time to move on and everyone wishes Flavor well.