Critics of the AFL’s decision to hire Snoop Dogg as the halftime entertainment at this year’s AFL grand final are motivated by racism, a former AFLW star has claimed.
The league divided fans and commentators when the official announcement was made on Tuesday, with some saying the hip-hop icon’s extreme lyrics fly in the face of the AFL’s commitment to opposing sexism and homophobia.
Ex-Fremantle, Richmond and Hawthorn star Akec Makur Chuot hit back at Snoop’s detractors, saying their complaints are fuelled by racism.
‘For the first time, we have this precedent where a black artist is coming to headline one of the biggest sporting events in Australia and you have all this propaganda and hate towards him when that has never been done when it was Katy Perry or any other caucasian people,’ she said.
‘This comes back to this casual racism and blunt racism that continues to happen in sports.
‘How can we expect our fans to not be racist to the players when you are now being racist towards someone who is literally a legend?
Ex-footy star Akec Makur Chuot (pictured) has blamed racism for the way some footy fans and experts have slammed the AFL for choosing Snoop Dogg to play at the grand final
Critics say the league has turned its back on its commitment to fight sexism and homophobia by paying the rapper (pictured) to play at the year’s biggest game
Chuot says Snoop has been subjected to the sort of intense scrutiny that white artists like Katy Perry haven’t experienced
‘We nitpick when it suits us, that’s my problem.
‘Do we have to sit and look at all the lyrics of everyone who’s come here?’
Chuot shot down people who have complained about the rap superstar because they believe local artists should be prioritised for the grand final gig, saying that sentiment ‘should not come at the expense of somebody like Snoop Dogg’.
‘It’s one thing to be like, he does this or does that, but a lot of them do,’ she said, pointing out that many musicians are known for their controversial lyrics.
Soon after Tuesday’s announcement, 3AW radio star Tom Elliott hit out at the AFL for abandoning its platform of respecting women by hiring Snoop.
‘Snoop Dogg’s lyrics – and we have been going through some of his songs this morning – are the absolute opposite of what the AFL is on about,’ Elliott said.
‘For example, this coming Thursday, the AFLW season starts … the AFLW stands for diversity and inclusion.
‘They’ve got two weeks of pride rounds in the men’s game. We respect people of different races and cultures and ethnicities.’
Former Hawks, Dockers and Tigers star Chuot says Snoop’s critics are ‘are now being racist towards someone who is literally a legend’
Pictured: A post on X from a footy fan who listed explicit Snoop Dogg songs that the AFL would not be happy with if they were played at the grand final
Elliott then read out the lyrics to the Snoop Dogg song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’.
‘I like tall ones, white ones, fat ones, black ones, short ones, cute ones, bad ones, good ones.
‘I’m tryin’ a creep with ’em, individually want to sleep with ’em, I do ’em, I did ’em, I hit ’em and quit ’em.
‘That’s how I get rid of ’em, welcome to my world, girls, girls, girls.’
He then summed up the lyrics with, ‘So basically it’s OK to hit women and then get rid of them.
‘This is at odds with what the AFL is constantly lecturing us about – you know, respect towards women.
‘I can tell you, in the hip-hop culture they have anything but respect towards women. Women are objects to be used and abused and chucked away in the world of Snoop Dogg.
Some footy fans voiced the same opinion when the AFL broke the news of Snoop’s performance on social media.
‘If the AFL didn’t have double standards, they’d have no standards at all,’ one wrote.
‘Like Snoop but I don’t think he’s suitable for grand final entertainment,’ another commented.
A third posted a list of Snoop tracks including ‘I Wanna F**k You’, ‘B**ch Please’ and ‘B**ch Please II’, along with the comment, ‘Something tells me the Chardonnay is gonna hit the MCC [Melbourne Cricket Club] ceiling when Snoop starts unloading his playlist.’
