News of May 16, 2012
"Totally false": Tupac's family contradicts Suge Knight
Suge Knight claimed Tupac was homophobic. Via TMZ, his family called that "totally false"—and pointed to Gianni Versace.
On Howard Stern’s show on Sirius XM in mid-May 2012, Suge Knight said Tupac had not wanted to work with Dr. Dre. In a meeting, Knight claimed, Tupac had referred to Dre with an anti-gay slur; Knight also alleged that Dre was gay. Tupac Shakur’s family rejected the claims: according to TMZ, representatives of the estate called this depiction “totally false”.
The Estate Points to Gianni Versace
Tupac was not homophobic, the family emphasized, pointing to his close friendship with designer Gianni Versace. In 1996, he walked in a Versace show in Italy. AllHipHop and the magazine The Advocate relayed the TMZ report on May 16.
No Evidence for Knight’s Account
In the end, it is one account against another: there is no independent evidence for Knight’s description of the meeting. Tupac’s own stance is documented by his lyrics and interviews (see the page on Dr. Dre).