shaun king
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Shaun King stands as one of the most controversial figures as the activist has a heavy number of detractors that seemingly eclipse those who support his work. King, reportedly a recent convert to Islam, was slated to deliver a keynote speech for an Islamic organization, which has since been rescinded.
Shaun King made waves after announcing that he and his wife had converted to Islam just before the holy period of Ramadan while mentioning his support of Palestine amid the nation’s conflict with Israel. The news of King’s spiritual choice led to him trending on social media with jokes flying at a rapid rate.
King was slated to be a speaker in Minneapolis in connection to a fundraising dinner for the local branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). After the news spread wide that King would be a keynote speaker, CAIR endured heavy backlash. As a result, CAIR took the speech off the table in response.
From CAIR’s X page:
We have heard concerns expressed—directly and indirectly—by our community regarding Shaun King being the keynote at your Annual Iftar Fundraiser. We have made the decision to not have Shaun King as the keynote speaker for our upcoming annual fundraising dinner.
This has become a distraction from the sole purpose of our event—to support the work of protecting and advancing the civil liberties of Muslims in Minnesota, especially in these challenging times. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to ensuring our focus remains on our mission. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
It doesn’t appear that Shaun King has addressed CAIR’s decision.
On X, formerly Twitter, had some thoughts and we’ve got them listed below.
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Photo: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
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Source: MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images / Getty
Shaun King is trending, so of course X users are giving their opinions on the matter; good, bad and slanderous. The longtime activist’s Instagram account has seemingly been suspended, and many on social media are pointing to his support of Palestine as the cause.
Of course, the constant swirl of controversy that accompanies King because of his alleged nonchalance when it comes to the use of money he has obtained via fundraising means that his detractors are constantly pouncing on any opportunity to clown him.
But before we get to that, King has been a constant supporter of the people of Palestine (read: not Hamas), ever since the now infamous attack on Israel in October. Nevertheless, initial controversy did ensue when the family of kidnapped Israeli victims King claimed to have adided said they didn’t know him. The confusion was quelled when a family member did confirm being in communication with King, but a lie always travels further than the truth.
Ever since, King has continued to spotlight the injustices Palestine people are enduring as Israel continues to bomb Gaza in pursuit of Hamas. So when King’s Instagram, which had reportedly 5.6 million followers, was seemingly suspended, his supporters, conspiracy theorists, and more came out in support. Also, the usual anti-King slander got healthily thrown in, too.
King himself has spoken on his IG getting snatched, saying “this is not hard times” in the grand scheme of things, and especially compared to what’s happening in Gaza. “Frustrated that Instagram has banned me for fighting for Palestine, and speaking up for the human rights and dignity of Palestinians, but I refuse to betray my values and principles by staying silent about this genocide and the war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank,” he wrote on an account that post his video message.
We compiled some of the more dramatic reactions, for archival purposes, in the gallery.
This story is developing.
3. Allegedly.
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
Shaun King is back in the headlines after getting into an online row with the families of freed American hostages in Israel.
The release of Judith and Natalie Raanan, hostages who were captured by the terrorist organization Hamas in their attack on the Gaza settlement in Israel on October 7, has led to a public feud between the activist Shaun King and their families. King claimed in a post on social media that he “worked frantically behind the scenes to help make this possible.” He also claimed that he worked “behind the scenes with an eclectic group of 30+ people that would normally never work together or get along”.
Judith and Natalie Raanan were visiting relatives when they were captured by the militants along with an estimated 200 other people. Their release was reportedly enabled through negotiations overseen by the Qatari government in coordination with the Biden administration, the International Red Cross, and the Israeli government. The women are currently in the protection of the Israeli military.
Relatives of the Raanans refuted King’s claims in a statement issued to TMZ. “First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying! Our family does not and did not have anything to do with him, neither directly nor indirectly. Not to him and not to anything he claims to represent,” it said.
Shaun King, whose online fundraising efforts and zealous promises falling short have earned him heavy criticism in the past, fired back in his response to The Daily Beast. “I spoke directly and repeatedly with this family. I have a job, career, and family. I would be throwing everything away to make such a thing up. Thankfully I kept records of all of them,” he wrote in the email. He would then post a statement from Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie, through his account on X, formerly Twitter, and claim they had been in contact on October 9 before posting images of their chats.
Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father, did note that Ben had spoken with King. “Ben, my son was talking with him without anybody in the family knowing about it until today,” he said after being contacted by the press. “Our family in Israel posted this statement denying we knew him before we learned about Ben talking to him. We have nothing further to say.”
To say that the Israel-Gaza conflict is divisive would be an understatement.
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
To say that Shaun King is a divisive figure would be an understatement. The infamous political activist is seeking help from his followers to pay for some medical procedures, but the cloud of “funny with the money” that has followed him for years has Twitter questioning his motivations.
As NewsOne reports, King has been diagnosed with a nerve condition that he claims leavies him unable to do even the most routine movements without “excruciating” pain. He took to Instagram to explain his predicament.
“On most days I’m asking for help for someone else, but today I’m asking for some help for myself,” wrote King as the caption of a selfie from a hospital bed from his official Instagram account. “As you can see, I’ve been in the hospital a lot – trying anything I can to relieve the excruciating pain I’m experiencing after a lifetime of spinal injuries.”
He added, “I’ve now been diagnosed with something called occipital neuralgia, which is actually the worst pain I’ve experienced in my adult life. It’s so extreme that my own doctor and others that have experienced this warned me of suicidal ideation that often accompanies it. It’s that bad.”
Unfortunately, King says that his insurance doesn’t cover potential treatments, so he’s seeking help via donations.
“So I just met with my doctors and they want us to try several promising procedures that aren’t covered by my health insurance. And I just can’t afford to do them on my own, but I damn sure refuse to stay like this.,” he wrote, while sharing his CashApp, Venmo and Zelle.
And there lies the rub.
King has been repeatedly accused of essentially scamming people out of their money, whether it be allegedly skimming off donations to activist causes for his own personal gain or selling clothing at a premium ($150 hoodies) and supposedly not delivering the products. While it seems that King has never been convicted in a court of law of being a fraudster (the Daily Beast did take a damning look at his non-profit last year), the fact that his name constantly comes up for such allegations has Twitter questioning the credibility of his suffering and whether or not people should send any of their hard-earned coin his way.
For example, several Twitter users have noted despite his allegedly chronic back problems, King actually solicited donation to go…mountain climbing.
Don’t blame the messenger, you can see some of the passionate reactions below. Hip-Hop Wired does not condone any of this potent slander, respectfully.
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