Outspoken rapper Azealia Banks has jumped to the defence of Tyler, the Creator after he was banned from entering Britain last week because of his controversial lyrics.
The '212' hitmaker, 24, has launched a Twitter tirade over the controversy, which forced Tyler to scrap plans to play the Reading and Leeds festivals over the weekend.
UK officials refused him a permit to perform, ruling he was "not conducive for public good", and politician Theresa May said Tyler's homophobic lyrics encouraged violence and fostered hatred.
But New Yorker Azealia has accused officials of hypocrisy, insisting they would never ban a white rapper like Eminem.
She tweets, "So if the UK is banning Tyler the creator for some old lyrics about harming women they should ban Eminem too? Oh yeah that's right... Eminem is white so he gets the courtesy of being forgiven in the public eye."
Banks added, "Tyler is just a nerd who is not going to harm anyone. I think banning him from the UK is very, very unfair. Society just needs to be consistent with its outrage."
Tyler's manager, Christian Clancy, attacked the ban decision last week, stating, "Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between three to five years per a letter from the secretary of state for the home department of the united kingdom. The letter specifically cites lyrics he wrote six-seven years ago for his albums Bastard and Goblin - the type of lyrics he hasn't written since...
"Highlights from the letter include that his work 'encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality' and 'fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts'."
Meanwhile, Yannis Phillippakis - the frontman of rock act Foals who performed at the Reading and Leeds festivals over the weekend - has blasted UK government officials for keeping Tyler, The Creator away from the sister events.
He tells NME.com, "I just think it shows how stupid the bureaucracy at government level is. He's a rapper, the lyrics they're banning him for are from six years ago and are no more offensive than the lyrics of a lot of other rappers who are freely allowed to come to the UK. So I wouldn't take it so seriously. It just highlights the absurdity of certain decisions made at that level... He'll be back, so who cares?"
WENN.com
