Gov. Andy Beshear apologizes to Tupac Shakur over Kentucky coronavirus unemployment claim
Andy Beshear has squashed his beef with Tupac Shakur, a Kentucky man whose unemployment claim was considered fraudulent because of his name.
www.courier-journal.com
Gov. Andy Beshear apologizes to Tupac Shakur over Kentucky coronavirus unemployment claim
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Tupac Shakur have squashed their beef.
State officials are working to resolve an unemployment claim filed last month by Shakur, a Kentucky man not related to the iconic hip-hop artist, after Beshear pointed it out on Monday as an example of fake claims that had been filed in the commonwealth.
“The governor was advised that a fraudulent claim had been filed in the name of Tupac Shakur. It now appears that a Kentuckian by that name has filed a claim," Beshear spokesman Sebastian Kitchen told The Courier Journal on Tuesday. "This morning, Gov. Beshear called Mr. Shakur to apologize. The Office of Unemployment Insurance is working to resolve the claim.”
With all eyes on him
at his daily coronavirus press briefing Monday afternoon, Beshear used the filing to make a point — fraudulent claims filed in Kentucky are slowing up unemployment distribution for others in the state who really need that money. More than 100,000 people filed for unemployment last week alone, records released Thursday show."We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky," Beshear said Monday. "That person probably thought they were being funny, they probably did — except for the fact that because of them, we've got to go through so many other claims, and one person thinking that they were funny, using somebody else's identity is going to make tens of thousands potentially of other people wait."
Beshear had a point about fraudulent claims. But he picked the wrong one to use as an example.
Shakur is a real person, and his claim was legitimate — he's a 46-year-old cook who worked at Lexington's Alfalfa’s and Lynagh’s restaurant before it closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, which got in touch with him after Beshear's briefing.
Kentucky's Tupac Shakur goes by Malik, his middle name, according to the Herald-Leader. A Muslim, he changed his name around 1998, as the last name Shakur means “thankful to God” in Arabic.
He is not, however, related to Tupac Shakur the rapper, who released several platinum albums in the 1990s before he was killed in an unsolved shooting in 1996. Conspiracy theories surrounding his death have become a part of popular culture since then. Several posthumous albums have been released since 1996 featuring verses he recorded before his death, playing into unfounded arguments that he could still be alive.
Tupac Malik Shakur got an apology from the governor Tuesday, and unemployment officials are working to resolve his claim.
His response? I ain't mad at cha,
according to the Herald-Leader.“I understand, he’s dealing with a lot,” Shakur told the Kentucky newspaper Tuesday morning. “Mistakes happen.”
Reporter Joe Sonka contributed. Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. Support strong local journalism and subscribe: www.courier-journal.com/lucasa.
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