Jay-Z tries to make a buck off Occupy movement, then hides

Rapper Jay-Z has made a bit of a fluff out of the Occupy Wall Street. The rapper began selling wittily erased slogan “Occupy All Streets,” which is all well and good, but his firm Rocawear then politely declined to share any of the profits generated from the $22 tees with the Occupy Wall Street foundation, with the below statement:

The ‘Occupy All Streets’ T shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement. Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.

The protestors felt that (Jay “half-a-billy” Z very definitely being part of the 1 per cent and all), this was mildly disrespectful. “Jay-Z, as talented as he is, has the political sensibility of a hood rat and is a scrotum,” one of the leaders of the protests said. “To attempt to profit off of the first important social moment of 50 years with an overpriced piece of cotton is an insult to the fight for economic civil rights known as #occupywallstreet.” Rocawear has quietly discontinued the line.

Interestingly, Jay Z’s friend and head of Def Jam Russell Simmons (pictured above with Jay and the ‘offending shirt”) has been more prominently onside with the protests, offering to pay for the clean-up and even making clear that he would actually like to pay more tax.