Did Bernie Sanders Just Break Up Legendary Rap Group Public Enemy?

Legendary rap group Public Enemy has cut ties with one of its most well known members, Flavor Flav. And it looks like it could be all Bernie Sanders’ fault. 

After 35 years the group is splitting up as a result of Flav taking a page out of liberal musicians’ books and sending a cease and desist letter to Sanders for using Flav’s “unauthorized likeness, image, and trademarked clock” to promote a Sanders rally, despite the fact that Flav hasn’t endorsed any political candidate. 

Shortly thereafter, Public Enemy released a statement: 

“Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav. We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.”

According to Rolling Stone, Flav had his lawyer send the letter, which said the following:

“The planned performance will only be Chuck D of Public Enemy, it will not be a performance by Public Enemy. Those who truly know what Public Enemy stands for know what time it is. There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.

“Flav … has not endorsed any political candidate in this election cycle.… The continued publicizing of this grossly misleading narrative is, at a minimum, careless and irresponsible if not intentionally misleading,” Friedman added in the letter. “It is unfortunate that a political campaign would be so careless with the artistic integrity of such iconoclastic figures in American culture.”

In a handwritten note at the bottom of the cease-and-desist, Flavor Flav wrote to Sanders, “Hey Bernie, don’t do this.”

Meanwhile, Public Enemy released a statement on Monday claiming that the band’s departure didn’t have to do with Flav’s cease and desist letter to Sanders. 

The band said: “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.”

the Bernie Sanders campaign has inadvertently led to the end of Public Enemy: Chuck D fired Flavor Flav for complaining that it looked like Public Enemy was endorsing Sanders — the final break after years of in-fighting https://t.co/6s7nqrjaUo

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) March 2, 2020

The band continued: “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, where an episode featured his children discussing an intervention and putting him into rehab … It’s time to move on and everyone wishes Flavor well.”

We can’t help but ask, how is Bernie going to claim he’s going to unify black voters, if he just potentially split up Public Enemy?

You can read the full cease and desist letter here: