Wyclef Jean has sold millions of records, toured around the globe, and even once campaigned to become the President of Haiti. However, to several police officers, he was another Black man in America who fit the description.
On March 21, Wyclef took to social media and shared an image of himself being detained by police. An artist who works with Wyclef captured the moment when LAPD officers placed handcuffs on Wyclef and snatched off the bandana he wore on his head. Apparently, the police officers were looking for a Black man who robbed a gas station and wore a red bandana. The crime occurred near a studio in Los Angeles where Wyclef was recording.
“Why am I in handcuffs? This is what I said to the LAPD after they put me in handcuffs for mistaken identity,” Wyclef tweeted. “Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working, but I’m in handcuffs.”
In January, Wyclef caught flack on social media for saying, “all lives matter.” In a tweet, Wyclef wrote, “Martin Luther King Jr. fought because all lives matter.” The tweet was followed by a clip that showed a judge who was murdered and 11 police officers who were shot. Wyclef then released his video, “Life Matters.”
Wyclef was ridiculed severely for the tweet and video. “Black Lives Matter” has opposed the saying, “all lives matter” because it takes away from raising awareness on the racial brutality against Blacks. But now that Wyclef sees himself as a victim, he appears to have changed his tune on what really matters the most.
Wyclef has since claimed that he will sue the LAPD over being detained for 10 minutes.
