Your controversial tweets don’t stop there. You tweeted a picture of Chelsea Handler kissing you on the cheek and wrote: “I don’t know why people say I have jungle fever. I never kissed a white girl.”
Ha-ha. Yeah, I got jokes for you.
You never admitted to having anything going on with her.
Yeah, because we’re friends.
Are you still friends?
I don’t speak to her as much as I did.
US Weekly says she refused gifts from you and said she can buy her own gifts.
Chelsea is wealthy. What gift can’t she buy? That was an assumption to write that. That was an easy shot to say she can buy her own gifts.
Okay, okay. But if you did catch “jungle fever” would she be the one?
Chelsea is confident. I think confidence is the sexiest thing about a person. She’s the kind of person that if you’re blessed with the opportunity to hang out with her, you’ll enjoy it. I’m not sure you’ll look at her and actually want to jump over the table and fuck her, but you might. You would leave after talking with her feeling that she is a cool person.
How about the Ciara flare-up? She tweeted something about your character and your tweets.
I’m being interrogated by previous tweets!
Yeah, your tweets can and will be held against you.
[laughs] Like in everything else I mentioned, isn’t it always me being attacked first?
I don’t know about that.
I could care less about trying to attack someone or bring them down in any way. I look at those scenarios like they’re actually trying to attack me. See, even if I have to assume that US Weekly said what you say. I’m sure she didn’t say that.
What about Ciara’s case?
She’s a friend. She’s been a friend. You know? And it’s like, I don’t know what to expect of people. I’ve been surprised a lot. You think you know what to expect out of people but…. I don’t know how I respond to that without being the bad guy.
Okay, here’s a chance to support a good guy: Do you think Justin Bieber was robbed for the Best New Artist Grammy?
I think Drake got robbed. He should have got artist of the year last year [laughs] to be real with you.
Why should he have won this year?
He did a lot, man. I don’t believe that Drake would have been as successful or his project would have been as successful if Lil’ Wayne was home. That point where Wayne had to sit down provided a complete focus on Drake.
You think Wayne detracts from Drake’s ability to shine?
It’s impossible to make that guy disappear when his light shines as bright as his does. I think [Lloyd] Banks would have sold 5 mil if I was in jail during the period when his album was released. It was a way for a Wayne fan to be just a Drake fan during that time.
Why do you think he didn’t win the Grammy?
I didn’t get it the year I was supposed to get it, for different reasons. I think the board is not young. They’re not hip. [In my case it was] just the choices to write the harsh reality. I point to that.
Now you’re dealing with the reality of Hollywood. You shed 54 pounds for your latest role. Why?
Things Fall Apart is a passion project for me. I disciplined myself physically more than I had up to this point.
What film performances have you seen that have inspired you?
Christian Bale in The Fighter. That was a performance. I know it was Mark Wahlberg’s baby and wouldn’t have happened without him, but Christian showed up. Let’s say I grew up around people who indulged in drug addiction, and he convinced me he was on crack. [laughs] I’m still not sure he wasn’t on crack.
What films have you connected with emotionally?
I like Aviator. I watched it over and over. Leonardo [DiCaprio] makes really good choices. But that was one of my favorite joints from him. I saw an HBO movie Sunset Limit that was really impressive. It has Samuel Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. Samuel L. Jackson is probably the most underrated actor. Like, he’s trying to go for the world record of underrated.
But he gets all kinds of accolades, and he’s in mad films.
What accolades? Yeah, he works… [But] you have the strongest monologue and awesome performance in Pulp Fiction and it’s overlooked.
He gets props for that one.
Props don’t count. He deserves an Academy look.
Samuel Jackson said you rappers shouldn’t be taking all the movie roles.
Well, yeah. He said something about me earlier. I was a fan of him before and after he said it. You understand, if you are that passionate… That person has disciplined himself and trained himself.
Especially now that you’ve been going through training.
Right. Then you understand the frustration. I’m with Sam: I don’t want to be in no movie with no damn rapper. -VIBE