Common may not have been looking to be part of a Thursday Throwdown, but with Bill O'Reilly and other Fox News anchors speaking out against him, he's found himself involved in some major controversy.
It all started when Michelle Obama invited Common to The White House for a poetry event last week. The invite seemed like a harmless gesture, but the peeps over at Fox News jumped all over it, claiming that Common shouldn't be allowed to go because of his history of "violent" lyrics and his support of "cop killers."
What's the cop killers deal about? Well, Common has admitted publicly that he supports Joanne Chesimard, a woman convicted of killing a New Jersey state tropper. The people in Common's corner, including Daily Show host Jon Stewart, argue that Common believes Joanne to be innocent, and therefore, he's not "celebrating a cop killer," but merely defending someone who may have been wrongly accused.
Tons of other rappers are coming to Common's defense, and the most vocal of them all is Nas. In an interview with MTV, Nas said, "The people who feel like Common shouldn't be performing are really old in their thinking. It's like your grandparents have a microphone, and not even smart grandparents ? just ignorant grandparents...Things change. So, a smart grandparent is gonna say, 'OK, I get it.' Ignorant grandparents who are just stuck in their own ways, they just need to die."
What do you think of the whole situation? Do you think Common's "violent" lyrics and support of Joanne Chesimard should keep him blacklisted from The White House? Or are the people over at Fox News just making a big deal out of nothing? Watch Bill O'Reilly's debate with Jon Stewart, then give us your opinion in the comments!




