Geraldo: ‘Hip-Hop Has Done More Damage’ To Minorities Than Racism

FILE - In this June 25, 2010 file photo, Fox News Channel commentator Geraldo Rivera speaks on the "Fox & friends" television program in New York. Duquesne (doo-KAYN') University says Geraldo Rivera isn’t welcome t... FILE - In this June 25, 2010 file photo, Fox News Channel commentator Geraldo Rivera speaks on the "Fox & friends" television program in New York. Duquesne (doo-KAYN') University says Geraldo Rivera isn’t welcome to appear on a panel at the Pittsburgh school because of a half-naked “selfie” he posted this summer. Duquesne says the cellphone picture the TV personality posted on Twitter in July 2013 was inappropriate and not in line with the school’s values as a Catholic university. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file) MORE LESS

Fox News senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera offered his unsolicited opinion about hip-hop during an interview on Tuesday with HuffPost Live, saying that the music “has done more damage to black and brown people than racism in the last 10 years.”

Rivera suggested to host Josh Zepps it is nearly impossible to find “a Puerto Rican from the South Bronx or a black kid from Harlem” who has “been a success in life walking around with his pants around his ass and with, you know, visible tattoos.”

He then took a moment to name-check Def Jam founder Russell Simmons, who he described as “a dear friend of mine.”

But, he said, “At some point, those guys have to cop to the fact that by encouraging this distinctive culture that is removed from the mainstream, they have encouraged people to be so different from the mainstream that they can’t participate other than, you know, the racks in the garment center and those entry-level jobs.”

Watch below. (Rivera’s comments on hip-hop start at 22:19):


h/t HuffPost Live