Kentucky governor apologizes to Tupac Shakur after accusing him of using fake name in unemployment claim
A Kentucky who shares the same name as that of late legendary rapper Tupac Shakur was denied unemployment benefit because the Governor's office thought that he had filled out his name on the application in jest.
On Monday, April 27, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear held a press conference expressing his disappointment in the individual in question, calling out his prank and blaming him for causing delays for thousands of other claims.
"We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky," Beshear said during his Monday press conference, according to the Lexington Herald Reader. "And that person may have thought they were being funny, they probably did. Except for the fact that because of them, we had to go through so many other claims."
Tupac Shakur, the rapper, died in 1996 after being shot in Las Vegas. But as it turns out, the guy who filed for unemployment in his name was actually called Tupac Malik Shakur. It was later revealed that he was a 46-year-old cook who found himself without a job when his restaurants closed due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
"I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills," Shakur told the Lexington Herald Reader. "I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked. He needs to apologize. That’s just my name."
He filed for unemployment insurance on March 13 and has since been waiting to receive the governmental aid. Shakur did end up receiving an apology from the governor, who held another press conference the following day to clarify his mistake.
"I owe somebody an apology tonight," Beshear said during his press conference Tuesday. "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. 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 added that Shakur did not hold his oversight against him. "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."
The governor then took a moment to apologize to Shakur on national television. "Malik, thank you for being so kind, and again, I'm sorry," he said.
Shakur told the outlet that he does forgive Beshear. "I understand, he’s dealing with a lot," he said. "Mistakes happen."
Sebastian Kitchen, Beshear's spokesman, told the Courier-Journal in a statement that the state's Office of Unemployment Insurance was working to make sure that the delay was fixed as soon as possible.
"The governor was advised that a fraudulent claim had been filed in the name of Tupac Shakur," Kitchen said. "It now appears that a Kentuckian by that name has filed a claim. This morning, Gov. Beshear called Mr. Shakur to apologize. The Office of Unemployment Insurance is working to resolve the claim."