Wiz Khalifa has been hit with criticism after a clip of the rapper shaking hands with Ryan Garcia, who recently expressed his “hate” for Black people, surfaced on social media.
On Sunday (June 7), Garcia posted a video of himself meeting and greeting Khalifa, who is Black, at a bar, with the two briefly chatting and exchanging handshakes in the clip. At one point, Garcia reaches for his cell phone and hands it to Khalifa to store his own contact information in before the pair go their separate ways.
Given that the video of himself and Khalifa was posted in the wake of mounting criticism following his hateful rant targeting Blacks and Muslims on Friday (June 5), many beleived Garcia was using Khalifa as a pawn in an attempt to improve his reputation within the Black community.
While it’s unclear when the actual video was recorded, or if Khalifa was privy to Garcia’s rant at the time the clip was posted on social media, people voiced their outrage over the rap star being seen socializing with the boxer.
“Wiz Khalifa is officially a lame for this,” wrote one user, while another added that the Pittsburgh native “has no code.” Other commenters were more fixated on Garcia’s actions in the clip, with some suspecting that the 25-year-old was under the influence of a narcotic substance according to his fidgety body movements while interacting with Khalifa.
“He can’t stop moving and his hands are all over the place. He’s on some coke or meth,” wrote one fan. “Dude is ready to run through a wall. It’s just sad to watch, it’ll get much worse before he gets better. Watch, you’ll see.”
On Friday, Garcia was participating in an X Spaces broadcast, during which he used racial slurs and verbally attacked the Islamic community, deeming Muslims as “pedophiles” in a lengthy rant. “I hate ni**as. I’m anti-Black,” Garcia, who is Mexican-American, said during the chat. “I’m KKK, ni**a. I hate ni**as. At the suggestion of another participant in the chat, Garcia added, “Let’s go bring George Floyd back to life and kill that ni**a.”
The social media star would later issue an apology for his racially and religiously insensitive tirade, attributing his actions to his struggles with mental health and substance abuse. He also claimed that he was merely “trolling” with his rant, reasoning that fell on death ears.
In response to Garcia’s initial remarks, the World Boxing Council expelled him from competing in their organization indefinitely.
See Ryan Garcia’s Instagram post with Wiz Khalifa below.
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