Kodak Black Facing Backlash Online After Saying He’ll Give Lauren London A ‘Whole Year’ To Grieve Nipsey Hussle Before Pursuing Her

Rapper Kodak Black is currently facing widespread backlash over suggestive comments he made about actress Lauren London, who’s currently grieving the loss of her partner, Nipsey Hussle.

Hussle, who was born Ermias Asghedom and is a Grammy-nominated rapper and entrepreneur, was fatally shot outside of his south Los Angeles clothing store in broad daylight last week in what police have called the result of a personal dispute. However, as many continue to grieve Hussle, who was a much-loved leader in his community, Black took to Instagram Live over the weekend with a message to London: "You can call my line."

“Lauren London, that’s baby, though. She about to be out here single. She about to be a whole widow out here. I’ll be the best man I can be for her. I’ll give her a whole year. She might need a whole year to be crying and s--t for him,” he said in video that’s no longer available on his page but was reposted by @TheShadeRoom. “I ain’t trying to shoot [my shot] at her. I’m saying, listen. Look, she can do two, three years. I’ll try to be, like, the friend if you need to holler or a shoulder to lean on. You can call my line.”

London and Hussle were together for five years and welcomed a son together in 2016. The 34-year-old actress has been privately grieving following the murder of her partner, but said in an Instagram post that she has “no words” after losing her best friend.  

Black’s comments have been met with disapproval from fans and celebrities alike who consider his comments disrespectful. Amid growing backlash, Black posted another video about London later on Saturday, where he apologized for disrespecting London but denied that he ever did so in the first place, TMZ reports.

“If I disrespected you, Lauren London, in any shape or form, I’m sorry, even though I didn’t,” he said. “And rest in peace for dude. Y’all already know what I said. I said dude encouraged me to do s--t for the community but anyhow, my bad for them two.”

He then called for anyone who “checked” him on the internet to “hit my line,” before continuing, “Rest in peace to dude. If I disrespected Lauren London in any way, even though I know I didn’t, my bad. My bad.”

A number of prominent names in the hip hop community took extreme offense to Black’s comments, including rappers T.I. and The Game.  T.I. took to social media to call Black out in a now-deleted post instructing Black to “get [himself] together” and calling him “outta pocket,” according to Complex.

“Fix that s--t quickly. Expeditiously,” he said.

Black responded with a two-word comment underneath T.I.’s video: “Or what?” he reportedly wrote. Before issuing his apology to London, he responded to T.I. in another Instagram Live video and accused the public of taking his words out of context, Complex reports.

“Man, listen. I said what I said. Y’all tryin’ to misconstrue what I said. ... F--k that. I don’t give a f--k what y’all talkin’ about,” Black said. “T.I., man, I don’t care. I’m in Georgia right now.”

In a video of his own, The Game called Black out for “disrespecting” Hussle’s memory and his family, describing the “new generation” as “f--ked up in the head.”

Black is also facing professional repercussions for his comments, with at least one radio station already vowing to blacklist his music. Justin Credible, a DJ at Los Angeles station Power 106, said that the station was “appalled by the disrespectful and poor comments made by Kodak Black.”

“With that, Power 106 will not support Kodak Black’s music,” he continued.

Real 92.3 DJ Big Boy made a similar statement over the weekend, writing, “This isn’t about radio or dropping records, that’s been done. This is about protecting a LEGACY and holding people accountable. This may not change Kodak Black now, but I pray it changes his or someone’s future.”

Hussle was known just as much for his community work as for his music, which earned him a Grammy nomination last year. The man suspected of gunning him down, 29-year-old Eric Holder, has been arrested on murder charges and has entered a not guilty plea.