Playboy today posted what is perhaps the craziest John Mayer interview in the blues guitarist’s treasured history of crazy interviews, and the Internet is going nuts. The primary bones of contention:
MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass?
And:
MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass?
Yikes!
Predictably, the John Mayer trending topic is blowing up on Twitter, with most denouncing the “repulsive” “douchebag cockpiece,” a few defending the off-the-cuff comments from the part-time stand-up comedian as “hilarious,” and at least one person asking the important questions, like “Q: If you could attend any concert … A:John Mayer or Michael Bublé or Lady Gaga … .” (Also, we’re assuming #penisnicknames is related to the hubbub.)
Mayer has moved quickly to defuse the situation with a series of tweets over the last hour, saying “Re: using the ‘N word’ in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word. And it’s such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it, because I realize that there’s no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.” But then, tragically, he added, “And while I’m using today for looking at myself under harsh light, I think it’s time to stop trying to be so raw in interviews … ” To which we say, John, please, not so quickly. Yeah, sure, your interviews are offensive and awkward, but at least they’re not boring like everybody else’s.
So, is John Mayer a jerk?
