Rapper Meek Mill has backed out of a visit to the White House to attend a panel discussion on prison reform. According to published reports, Mill canceled his visit on Friday after speaking to rapper Jay Z.
Mill said he backed out of the visit to shift the focus from himself to prison reform.
“I was originally scheduled to be part of a panel on Prison Reform at the White House to help shed light on the issues within the system,” said Mill, whose legal name is Robert Rihmeek Williams.
“Unfortunately, the focus turned to the President and Myself which concerned me that it might take away from creating a positive result from today’s discussions.”
He added, “As a result, I decided not to attend so that the focus would be solely on fixing our prison system. Most importantly I remain fully committed to improving our criminal justice system.”
Mill was released from a Pennsylvania prison in April after serving 5 months of a 2-4 year sentence for violating the terms of his probation. At the time he said he would be a powerful voice to help change the criminal justice system.
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