"I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments" - Maverick Carter gives reasoning for The Shop pulling episode featuring Kanye West
LeBron James' talk show The Shop will reportedly 'pull' an episode featuring Kanye West. After more than five seasons of hosting celebrities, co-anchor Maverick Carter shared why the show would be doing so.
HBO's The Shop: Uninterrupted is a talk show hosted by LA Lakers superstar LeBron James and, business partner SpringHill Company CEO, Maverick Carter. The show has seen a number of sports icons and celebrities join and speak on various topics.
With the likes of sports icons being paired with entertainment industry giants, The Shop creates for an interesting environment for exchanging thoughts.
A recent episode of the popular talk show was set to feature music industry titan Kanye West. West is known to be an eccentric but beloved music producer and rapper. In this regard, fans certainly looked forward to his appearance on the show.
However, the show decided to pull the recently taped episode featuring Kanye West for some reason. In light of this, Maverick Carter shared a statement as to why they decided to so.
As per Andscape's Justin Tinsley, Carter stated:
"Yesterday we taped an episode of The Shop with Kanye West. Kanye was booked weeks ago and, after talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped, I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments. Unfortunately, he used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes."
"We have made the decision not to air this episode or any of Kanye’s remarks. While The Shop embraces thoughtful discourse and differing opinions, we have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate."
I take full responsibility for believing Kanye wanted a different conversation and apologize to our guests and crew. Hate speech should never have an audience.”
BREAKING @makespringhill has decided not to air an episode of The Shop they shot w/ Kanye West yesterday.
In an exclusive, @mavcarter told @JustinTinsle Ye "used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes."
More @andscape andscape.com/features/exclu…
Carter extended his apologies on behalf of the crew of The Shop towards the fans of the show. Kanye West reportedly continued to spread his controversial beliefs during filming, which was the prime reason for it being pulled. LeBron James was also reportedly not present during the episode's filming.
West's recent actions have created quite a lot of controversy on social media as well. With LeBron James and Maverick Carter likely taking note of this, The Shop may have made the right choice by pulling the episode.
Lebron James and Maverick Carter foster a healthy environment on The Shop
A key aspect of any successful talk show happens to be the degree of comfort the hosts can build within the working environment.
In this regard, The Shop propagates an extremely laid-back vibe, which allows for healthy discourse. The idea behind having guests sit on salon chairs itself plays a massive role in doing so.
The Shop has featured the likes of giants in entertainment and sports. From David Beckham, Naomi Osaka and Tom Brady to Chadwick Boseman and Pharell Williams.
With an episode featuring former US President Barack Obama as well, The Shop has truly seen some of the most popular figures in the world on their set.
“Don’t let the frustration turn into cynicism where then you just think nothing can change”
Barack Obama wants young people to channel anger into action #TheShopHBO
(via @uninterrupted)
https://t.co/H4glLdoVtH
In this regard, co-hosts LeBron James and Maverick Carter have done a great job of fostering a healthy environment for all kinds of discourse.
With room for deep conversation and hilarious exchanges, The Shop: Uninterrupted continues with filming its fifth season. As more guests join the show, LeBron James and Maverick Carter will also hope to bring more stories for fans to enjoy.