Before presenting “Best New Artist” to Chance the Rapper at the 59th Annual Grammys on Sunday (Feb. 12), Jennifer Lopez took a moment to stress the duty of artists in the face of political turmoil. “At this particular point in history, our voices are needed more than ever,” J. Lo said, eliciting applause. “As Toni Morrison once said, ‘This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence and no room for fear. We do language. That is how civilizations heal.'”
Well, one alt-right audience member at home refused to clap. Instead, Info Wars host Alex Jones chose to insult the award-winning artist during a hate-filled tirade on his online show. “Who is this tart?” he began, as if the pop icon isn’t a certified household name.
The conservative then proceeded to accuse the Shades of Blue actress of hoarding money like “all the leftists from these big foundations” where “one or two percent of the money goes to Africans.” The ugly retort took an unacceptable turn when Jones blurted out, “Why don’t you go to Somalia for five minutes, lady? You’ll be gang-raped so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
There’s nothing okay with this spew of violent, misogynistic language that trivializes rape culture and reeks of xenophobia, no less. Let’s call sheer hate by its name instead of attempting to normalize it under the umbrella of “political preferences.”