It wasn’t just the smoke curling from Snoop Dogg’s signature blunt that clouded his Instagram Live session—his words, full of defiance and self-assurance, left an even denser haze of controversy. Days after his performance at the Crypto Ball, one of Donald Trump’s inauguration events, Snoop faced mounting backlash, including losing half a million Instagram followers. Yet, in his short video from a car, he offered little explanation beyond a brief declaration of love and self-assuredness: “For all the hate, I’m going to answer with love,” he said, exhaling through the criticism like it was just another puff of smoke.
The backlash, however, has been far from passive. Radio host D.L. Hughley, a vocal cultural commentator, called out the rapper for sidestepping the core issue. “People love you, but they dislike what you did,” Hughley said. “The very person you performed for is dismantling affirmative action, diversity programs, and long-standing civil rights efforts.” Rather than confronting the complexities head-on, Snoop’s response, Hughley argued, deflected responsibility back to his critics, making it seem like their concerns were personal attacks rather than genuine disappointment.
Much of the outrage stems from Snoop’s public stance in 2017 when he criticized performers at Trump’s first inauguration, calling them sellouts. His change of heart, many believe, traces back to Trump’s commutation of Death Row Records co-founder Michael “Harry O” Harris’ prison sentence in 2021. Snoop had once been an outspoken critic of Trump’s policies, but after the pardon, his tone shifted. “Donald Trump?” Snoop told the Sunday Times earlier this year. “He ain’t done nothing wrong to me. He has done only great things for me.”
Ana Navarro, co-host of The View and a frequent Trump critic, joined those who found Snoop’s appearance troubling. She argued that the rapper’s actions reflected more than a personal change—it represented a break from the values he once championed. “Donald Trump hasn’t changed,” she said. “You have. If you stood against him in 2017, how do you applaud him now?” For many, this shift feels less like personal growth and more like a contradiction that remains unexplained.
Snoop’s defenders, however, point to his nonpolitical nature as a reason to temper the backlash. In an interview with TMZ, Michael Harris expressed gratitude toward Trump and defended Snoop’s decision to stay out of the political fray. “Snoop is appreciative, just like I am, for what Trump did for me,” Harris said. “But he’s America’s favorite. He doesn’t want to be mixed up in politics. He simply supports whoever’s in office.” But for critics like Hughley, the issue remains unresolved: “The 2025 version of Snoop doesn’t align with the man he used to be. He doesn’t owe us love—he owes us an explanation.”
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