Erykah Badu Says She Is ‘Not An Anti-Semitic Person,’ Praises Hitler

Erykah Badu, painting enthusiast Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer January 24, 2018

Is it right to separate the art from the artist? Can it ever be appropriate to enjoy the art of a person who may have committed evil acts?

Musician Erykah Badu is taking the question a step further, asking specifically, if the artist is Hitler and the art is paintings made by Hitler, can we enjoy the paintings and, thus the person?

via GIPHY

ERYKAH, NO!

Badu gave an interview to Vulture today, in which she noted, “I see good in everybody. I saw something good in Hitler.” When pressed by the interviewer, she added, “Hitler was a wonderful painter.” (Though when pressed further, she admitted he was a “terrible painter.”)

Badu deserves some understanding though. She explains several times that she is trying to approach the world from a humanist perspective, that she “would never want to hurt people,” not even “a group of white men who believe that the Confederate flag is worth saving.” Her position, that trying to see Hitler as a human being instead of a monster is a useful way to try to process a violent world, isn’t insane or inherently offensive. More troubling, though, is Badu’s refusal to consider that her views might fuel the fire of anti-Semitic rhetoric, causing people to get hurt.

Oh, Erykah. Image by Screenshot from Vulture

Google the phrase “anti-Semitism” and grace us with a thoughtful song about it, Erykah! We’ll even accept a painting.

Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a student in the MFA Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, a former staff writer at Glamour, and a former writer and editor at the Forward.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO