Belly rapper D’Angelo is the latest celebrity to take aim at special ed and says he is “a little bit of a pain in the ass” for people who “worship the same thing”.
The rapper, whose real name is DJ Premier, made the comments during an interview on The Howard Stern Show on Thursday.
“I’m a little bit a pain-in-the-ass for people that worship the same kind of thing,” he said.
“So I’ll tell you what.
If I was an actual special ed teacher, I’d be teaching special ed kids the exact same way I taught other kids.
If you worship that kind of bullshit, I’m going to give you hell for teaching that shit.”
In the interview, the comedian-turned-actor-turned DJ Premier was also critical of special ed teachers.
“The idea of special education is bullshit, and if you’re teaching it, then you’re a little fucking trouble in the pants,” he told Stern.
“That’s all I’m saying.
If a kid is struggling with a special education issue, that’s their problem, not yours.”
On Thursday, Premier told The Huffington Post he had been in touch with the actor to discuss his comments.
“He called me, and he’s just really, really upset.
I’m just really sad for him,” he explained.
“His comments were made in a way that made me a little uncomfortable, but I’m not going to go through that again.
I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”
In April, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled special ed should be allowed in schools, saying the schools should treat students with “due regard and respect”.
The ruling led to the closure of the Massachusetts Department of Education’s special ed office and forced schools to make changes.
The school board in Massachusetts appealed the ruling.
