DJ Envy Responds To Critics Who Want Him Canceled

Rashawn “DJ Envy” Casey has been facing heated backlash online for his controversial comments about the fatal shooting of teen Ma’Khia Bryant by police.

But the “Breakfast Club” host tells Page Six, “I understand people are upset and they have the right to be — but what I don’t like is this cancel culture, when they try to cancel somebody for an opinion.”

While debating the case on-air with co-host Charlamagne Tha God, Envy made comments that were sympathetic to police in the Columbus, Ohio, shooting.

“Every case is different,” he said this week. “And in this case, if I pull up to a scene and see a girl chasing another girl about to stab a girl, my job as a police officer is to make sure that girl doesn’t get killed. And the law allows me to stop that killing or that stabbing by any means necessary. That’s what the law allows me to do, on both sides.”

Bryant was shot on April 20 by police officer Nicholas Reardon outside of her home when a call was made to 911 to stop a fight. Police bodycam video showed Reardon firing several shots at Bryant as she lunged with a knife at another person.

Envy said: “The whole situation is tragic and it’s sad because that system failed that young lady. The fact that she’s out there fighting at 16 with a grown woman. The fact that the older man seen in the video would rather kick the girl on the ground and join the fight instead of stopping the fight, all these things come together and the system failed that girl and it is sad.”

He further added, “Everybody’s saying [the police] shoot first, but he possibly saved that [other girl’s] life … if she would’ve stabbed her, who knows if she would’ve lived. She could have got cut in the throat, in the face, we just don’t know what could happen.”

The radio host and Queens native is the son of a retired NYPD cop, and a victim of police harassment, he said, who “has experience with both sides of the spectrum.”

Either way, Twitter went into a frenzy over Envy’s stance on the subject, with comments including, “DJ Envy is a bozo,” and, “Every time a police shooting happens [DJ Envy’s] corny ass always gotta remind everybody that his dad was a cop.” Other commenters posted, “His career should have ended a long time ago,” and, “DJ Envy supported the death of a teen girl and that needs to be the end of his career.”

He was also accused of selling out his race for supporting the police, with one social media user calling him a hurtful racial epithet in a since-deleted comment.

“It doesn’t hurt me … because people are mad about what’s going on and I’m mad and upset as well,” Envy told us. “But I know who’s on my side and who’s not. I know who tries to help the community and who doesn’t. We sit here and raise money every year for organizations that fight against this. I help our community with financial freedom and learning about buying their own homes, and their own investment properties. So people can have financial freedom so they can use their own money.”

NBA star LeBron James tweeted a picture of Reardon along with the ominous caption, “YOU’RE NEXT.” The Akron-born Lakers champ later deleted the tweet amid backlash, saying he took the message down because it was “being used to create more hate.”

Envy elaborated of those who want him canceled for his comments, “We should be able to have a conversation and dialogue. I did not sexually assault somebody. I wasn’t racist to someone. I am just stating the facts, and what I see. I have had conversations with friends and celebrities who feel the same way, but they will not say so publicly because it is not a popular opinion and they are fearful of the backlash.”

SOURCE