Kodak Black 'sorry' for Nipsey Hussle girlfriend comment

Kodak Black has apologised for saying he planned to romantically pursue actress Lauren London following the death of her boyfriend Nipsey Hussle.

"I'll be the best man I can be for her," the rapper said of Lauren London, adding that he'd give her "a whole year" to grieve for Nipsey.

He's faced backlash from the likes of T.I and The Game - and had his music banned from a prominent LA radio station - following the comments.

His apology has also been criticised.

"If I disrespected you Lauren London in any shape or form, I am sorry," the 21-year-old rapper said on Instagram Live, before adding: "Even though I didn't."

"Rest in peace to dude [Nipsey Hussle]. If I disrespected Lauren London in any way, even though I know I didn't, my bad," he reiterated later in the video.

Both T.I and The Game recorded videos calling Kodak Black out following his initial comments.

And Power 106, one of the biggest radio stations in Los Angeles, said it would no longer be playing his tracks.

But for some people, the reaction to his comments has come at a strange time.

The Florida rapper, real name Dieuson Octave, is waiting to stand trial in South Carolina after being charged with an alleged sexual assault there in 2016.

The trial has been delayed, but, if convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

He's also been criticised for using homophobic lyrics referencing rapper Young M.A on a song released earlier this year.

T.I (right) with Nipsey Hussle - he's criticised Kodak Black for talking about Lauren London

Various people have tweeted about their astonishment that Kodak Black is being called out only now.

"Men only see things as being a problem when it affects other men," according to Pearl Pillay.

"For me the outrage against Kodak Black is less about Lauren London and more about Nipsey Hussle," adds the 27-year-old.

"It's the idea that he was the person who was disrespected, because the rhetoric that men use about women is one of ownership. It's 'You disrespected his woman'."

The Game's criticism of Kodak Black largely centred around Nipsey Hussle's "name" - as well as "his girl's name" - being disrespected.

"When you disrespect another man or his legacy, that's what they find wrong - not so much his attitude towards women," Pearl says.

The South African, who works for a youth policy think tank, says it's something she's witnessed in every day life.

She remembers when a man approached her friend in a bar, touched and complimented her hair, and then offered an apology to her friend's boyfriend instead of her friend.

"Women are not seen as deserving of respect and boundaries and personal space," she says.

Lauren London and Nipsey Hussle were in a relationship for around six years

Pearl is happy that people are calling Kodak Black out, but says "women have been saying that this man is sexist and misogynistic" for a long time.

"And now it takes a man being disrespected and other men then coming out and saying things for it to hold any water.

"It shouldn't take the voice of men to make an issue important.

"People have to listen when women speak."

Kodak Black's comments came after Nipsey Hussle was killed in LA at the end of March.

Lauren London, who has one child with Nipsey, says she's "lost" without the rapper.

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