Lionel Richie has criticised Kanye West’s use of the N-word at Wednesday night’s BRITs, saying it should not become a normal part of conversation.
Kanye caused controversy at the awards ceremony when he debuted his new song All Day.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the Dancing On The Ceiling star said he wasn’t happy with the everyday use of the word.
“Am I fan of the N-word? Not coming from the 1960s and 70s. Whereas the new world has embraced it,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s OK for a black man to use the N-word. I don’t like it – and I am a black man. I don’t think it should be said and become normal.”
The 65-year-old went on to explain why he thinks Kanye used it so prolifically in his new track.
“Kanye is giving us the generation shock value. How he carries on for the next 10 years we will see.
“The music business is more attention driven, but you have to let it pass. Don’t even focus on it,” he added.
Lionel was one of the celebrities caught on camera looking shocked as Kanye unleashed his new song on unsuspecting ears.
Yeezy had apparently rehearsed the censored version before the Brit Awards 2015, but decided an hour before the show opened that he was going to perform the original instead.
It meant ITV bosses had to use audio muting to bleep out the offensive words, but were caught out several times, prompting a few complaints to the channel.