Nigerian Lawmaker Invites Kanye West To Learn More About Slavery

A Nigerian lawmaker has made Kanye West an offer he probably shouldn’t refuse — an opportunity to visit old slave ports in Africa.

This invitation, from Nigerian senator Shehu Sani, presumably comes as a response to a comment West made in a livestream with TMZ that slavery was a “choice.”

Sani said that by suggesting this, West essentially “defecated” on the graves of victims of the slave trade, and wants to give West some perspective on the topic of slavery.

After the TMZ livestream, West tweeted (then deleted) a few statements that appeared to be an attempt to clarify his slavery comments, saying, “to make myself clear. Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will,” and “once again I am being attacked for presenting new ideas.”

Of course, at this point, “Kanye West faces criticism” is not exactly a novel headline. West has pretty much always been a controversial figure in popular culture and he likely always will be. But many of his fans have been particularly troubled by the rapper’s statements over the past few weeks, with West proclaiming support for Donald Trump, posting photos of a Make America Great Again hat signed by the president, releasing a new, super troll-y song, and, of course, saying that enslaved people chose their fate. West now appears to be losing both fans and the friendship of other artists, with Rihanna, Drake, John Legend, and more reportedly unfollowing him on Twitter in the wake of this particular controversy.

In any case, stay tuned to see if West accepts Sani’s offer — at this point, anything is possible.