Features

All Categories

Questlove: Michele Bachmann Controversy Not Worth It

Posted Dec 1st 2011 5:10PM by Cameron Matthews
Comments

Gilbert Carrasquillo, FilmMagic

As The Boombox previously reported, much-loved drummer Questlove and the Roots gave Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann a sly tribute on 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' last week. As detailed in several tweets, Quest and crew's walk-on music for the Minnesota congresswoman was an instrumental version of Fishbone's 1985 classic 'Lyin' Ass Bitch.' When Bachman and several women's groups caught wind of the controversial song choice, all hell broke loose. After an apology from NBC and Jimmy Fallon, it's finally Questlove's turn to talk.

"It wasn't like a chess move where you have to think 12 steps ahead; you're just, like, 'F---, all right, I'm gonna do it,' in a kamikaze-type way," the drummer/producer tells Pitchfork. "And I really didn't think about how it could be perceived as a misogynist swipe -- it didn't hit me until my [Twitter] timeline started showing up that it was seen that way. I was like, 'F---, I forgot 'bitch' is actually in the title.'"

After getting the proverbial middle finger from pundit Bill O'Reilly, several women's groups and Bachmann's own camp, Questlove was fearing for the safety of his job. But thanks to a national holiday, the whole storm blew over. "Last Wednesday, the day before [Thanksgiving]. We were seeing where she was going to go with it because, if you call the right channels, next thing you know advertisers are in the NBC building asking for proper action to be done. So we were definitely waiting with bated breath. And then her camp was like, 'Look, it's Thanksgiving. Let's just put all this behind us and call it a day.'"

Despite evading further controversy, Quest is remorseful about his band's song choice. "It deeply offended a lot of women's groups and non-Bachmann supporters, and for that I'm deeply sorry. I'm not parading like I'm the poster boy for the feminist movement, but those who truly know me know that that's not me. I was really just going with her whole revisionist history angle, I wasn't calling it out on her being a woman." The band leader even goes as far to admit that the whole thing was "absolutely not" worth it.

Watch Michele Bachmann on 'Late Night'

NBC Apologizes To Bachmann For Late Show Musical Mishap

Follow @theboombox on Twitter | Like Us on Facebook | Sign Up for Newsletter

Download the Roots Songs | Buy the Roots Albums