Andy Beshear initially blasted a 46-year-old man whose name is the same as the late rapper's in a press conference earlier this week for allegedly faking his unemployment claims.
- Apr 30, 2020
AceShowbiz - Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear made a public apology to a man who has the same name as rapper Tupac Shakur's for false accusation. In a press conference, Beshear admitted to have falsely accused the man of faking his unemployment claims.
"We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky," Beshear said during his Monday, April 27 press conference. "That person probably thought they were being funny, they probably did--except for the fact that because of them, we've got to go through so many other claims."
"One person thinking that they were funny, using somebody else's identity, is going to make tens of thousands … of other people wait," he added.
However, the man is not a prankster nor he is trying to be funny. According to the Lexington Herald Reader, the 46-year-old is a cook who was laid off when his restaurants closed amid Coronavirus crisis. "I've been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bill," Shakur, who filed unemployment insurance on March 13, said. "I'm hurt, I'm really embarrassed and I'm shocked. He needs to apologize. That's just my name."
Beshear did apologize to him later on Tuesday. "I owe somebody an apology tonight," he said in a press conference. "Last night I spent a little bit of time talking about fraudulent claims holding us up. I mentioned an individual that had filed in the name of Tupac Shakur."
"I didn't know -- and it's my fault -- that we have a Kentuckian who goes by Malik whose name is Tupac Shakur," Beshear explained. "I talked to him on the phone today. I apologized. I told him how it happened, but I owned it. It's my fault."
"He was gracious," Beshear continued. "I said I was sorry if I embarrassed him or caused him any attention he didn't want. He was very kind, he ended the call 'God bless,' and we're gonna make sure that we resolve his claim." Concluding his speech, Beshear said, "Malik, thank you for being so kind, and again, I'm sorry."
Meanwhile Beshear's spokesman Sebastian Kitchen revealed to the Courier-Journal in a statement that the state's Office of Unemployment Insurance is working on Shakur's request.
