Joy Villa had some choice words regarding 21 Savage's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest, which is a situation she deemed "sloppy" and "stupid on his part."
Savage, born Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was placed into police custody in Atlanta on February 3 because he's legally from the United Kingdom and not the United States. The 26-year-old "A Lot" rapper, whose visa expired in 2006, considered himself an Atlanta resident and has often been regarded as a local act. He was released from an immigration detention center on Wednesday and is expected to have a deportation hearing at a later date.
Villa, 27, addressed Savage's arrest in an interview for iHeartRadio's Domenick Nati Show on Tuesday. Host Domenick Nati asked whether Villa had been following this news story and if she thought his arrest was "deserved," which led her to dissect the rapper's dilemma.
"I have empathy for people but if you overstay your visa, someone on your team should've let you know: 'Yo, visa's up. Let's renew it,'" she said. "That's just sloppy. What were you doing? So for me, I'm like, sorry but the law is the law. Work with your lawyers. You're a well-known rapper. He's got the money to do it, so that's kind of stupid on his part."
Villa's interview also featured her defending President Donald Trump for not being "racist," saying: "He's not racist at all. I mean, when was he racist? When he daughter [Ivanka Trump] converted to Judaism, becoming a traditional Jewish woman in her family? Now he has Jewish grandbabies. Was he racist when he donated millions of dollars to historic black colleges and universities his first year in [the] presidency? ...Was he racist when he had an immigrant for a wife?"
Villa then suggested it's unlikely that Trump's racist because he's from New York. She claimed he's "brash" and makes "offensive" comments, but argued that doesn't make him racist.
Villa is an avid Trump and border security supporter. At Sunday's 61st annual Grammy Awards, she arrived on the red carpet wearing a white and silver barbed wire dress to represent a border wall—a big aspect of Trump's presidential campaign promise that ultimately led to a partial government shutdown. The back of the gown featured the phrase "Build the Wall" in giant, red letters. The look was paired with a crown and a red purse that featured Trump's campaign slogan: "Make America Great Again."
On Tuesday, Villa defended her controversial Grammys gown amid backlash from opposers. In her defense, she argued the importance of border security by citing examples of how standard security measures are put in place for protection.
"I've been listening to all your liberal arguments against the wall, and you're right," she tweeted Tuesday. "No more walls. No more locked doors. No more locked cars. No more rooms! Get rid of BOX STRUCTURES and buildings and keys and alarms all together they are racist! #woke."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dory Jackson is a New York-based entertainment journalist from Maryland. She graduated from Randolph-Macon College—in May 2016—with a focus in Communication ... Read more
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