David Bowie put MTV on blast for lack of diversity – and Ice T loves it

A resurfaced clip of David Bowie putting MTV on blast for racial bias has made the rounds on social media – and it has rightfully won the approval of many, including Ice T.

During the 1983 interview with MTV’s Mark Goodman, Bowie opted to take a stand and speak up for those who didn’t have a platform.

“Having watched MTV over the past few months, it’s a solid enterprise with a lot going for it,” he said, before highlighting: “I’m just floored by the fact that there are so few Black artists featured [on MTV].”

The late singer-songwriter flipped the script and quizzed the interviewer as to why that was.

Goodman offered an array of arguments and jumped to the defence of the music channel, saying, “I think we’re trying to move in that direction,” but Bowie brought the attention back to his initial point. He noted that “there seems to be a lot of Black artists making very good videos that I’m surprised aren’t used on MTV.”

“The only few Black artists one does see are on in about 2:30 in the morning until 6:00,” Bowie added. “Very few are featured prominently during the day. I’ll see that over the last couple of weeks, things have been changing, but it’s been a slow process.”

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Things got much worse when the MTV interviewer candidly claimed that “some town in the Midwest that would be scared to death by Prince, which we’re playing, or a string of other Black faces” – despite Prince being from Minneapolis... A Midwestern town.

Ice T reposted the viral clip calling Bowie a “REAL ONE” for showcasing his impeccable moral character.

“A lotta people may NOT know that David Bowie put MTV on blast back in the day for NOT playin Black artists,” the rapper said. “He side stepped the double talk… Bowie was a REAL ONE.”

Naturally, the clip garnered much attention across Twitter.

Yet another reason why Bowie will always remain a legend.