These Are the Times Rappers Faced Backlash for Wild Things They’ve Said This Year

America's a free country and people can pretty much say whatever they want, but there can definitely be big-time consequences in the court of public opinion. Over the last year, rappers have dealt with this reality a bunch of times.

Most of the instances came down to things like homophobia, uncouth comments or support for Donald Trump. Right at the top of the year in January, Eminem made an ill-conceived punchline that mentioned a mass bombing. 50 Cent faced some backlash after he temporarily lent his support to Trump after learning about some of now President-elect Joe Biden's plans for taxes earlier this year. He had a change of heart a short time later, but the internet made sure to let him have it. Later on in the year in October, T.I. suggested his own remedy for the coronavirus, drawing some ire from fans along the way.

There have been many more instances besides the ones described above, whether the controversial comments had to do with homophobia, colorism or anything else. There's a chance that the rappers in question didn't realize they would face the controversy they did, but that's what happens once a wild comment is let loose. While the backlash for most of these incidences blew over, the rappers weren't really able to emerge from them unscathed. Still, there are lessons to learn, and to do so, fans should read up on these moments.

Today, XXL takes a look 16 times rappers faced some backlash for wild things they've said. Check out the list below.