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Chuck D admits he didn’t really fire Flavor Flav from Public Enemy. It was all just a publicity stunt to promote the group’s new album.

Chuck D, 59, made headlines when he announced he was firing his old colleague after Flav, 61, sent a cease and desist letter to presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders over the use of his image for Chuck’s concert in support of Sanders’s campaign.

Bloggers can usually tell when a story is a publicity stunt. For instance, any story with the names Kardashian or Jenner attached to it is likely to be a stunt.

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However, Chuck D’s stunt fooled everybody. He even had legal experts weighing in on the contract and whether he could really oust Flavor from the group they founded together.

In an interview with Talib Kweli on the Uproxx podcast People’s Party, recorded on March 10, the hip-hop legend said he was inspired by Orson Welles‘ infamous “War of the Worlds” hoax radio broadcast in 1938.

“We felt that over the past few years, Flavor’s stock was low,” he explained. “Anybody that could take a shot at him could get a good shot at him.”

Chuck added that he viewed the legal letter over the Sanders concert as a “good move” and they agreed to use the dispute to drive media coverage.

Asked about whether Flav is still in Public Enemy, Chuck confessed that the hype man cannot be dismissed from the group.

“He can’t (be fired), he’s a partner,” the “Fight the Power” hitmaker said. “You can’t fire partners. You just walk away from ’em.”

Flav is yet to comment on his bandmate’s claims his firing was staged.

Source: WENN.com