Don Cheadle has jumped to the defence of rapper Logic after the MC was accused of copying Kendrick Lamar by recruiting the actor for his new music video.
1-800-273-8255, Logic's collaboration with singers Alessia Cara and Khalid, deals with depression and suicidal thoughts and the accompanying promo stars Cheadle as the father of a gay teen, played by Coy Stewart, struggling to deal with his sexuality, with Modern Family's Nolan Gould appearing as the youngster's crush.
The song's title is a reference to America's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number.
The moving footage, written and directed by Andy Hines, was released on Thursday (17Aug17), but some music fans overlooked the real message of the video, which promotes suicide prevention efforts, to attack Logic for recruiting the same actor who featured in Kendrick's recent DNA video.
"I need him to have an original idea. He's a phenomenal emcee, but this tarnishes the merit of his music," posted one annoyed Twitter user, while another wrote, "this man really wants to be Kendrick so bad. Tries to take his flow on some songs, can't even think of another good black actor?? c'mon mane (sic)".
The direct comparison to Kendrick promoted Cheadle to tackle the critic online, explaining, "The director actually called me for the gig. Not @Logic301. And who doesn't want to be Kendrick??"
When another person posted, "Logic is a f**ken (sic) artist he should create his own thing and stop Imitating his competition....," the Ocean's Eleven star again responded, commenting, "Sounds like you have a 'Logic' problem...take that as you will."
Cheadle then shared his pride for the video and the significance of its message, tweeting, "Just watched it. First time I saw it all finished. It's beautiful. Love is love."
He also remarked on a tweet from a Complex magazine writer, praising Cheadle for his "powerful" performance, insisting he isn't the only one who deserves praise.
"And Luis Guzman and Mathew Modine and Nolan Gould ...," he wrote of his video co-stars, adding, "And the lead, Coy Stewart. Great job, Coy."
Logic, Alessia, and Khalid also make appearances in the promo via computer screens.
