Sarah Palin Threatens To Sue Azealia Banks Over Twitter Rant, Rapper Apologizes

Sarah Palin is threatening to take legal action against rapper Azealia Banks, who unleashed an NSFW tirade against the former Alaska governor earlier this week on Twitter.

Sarah Palin v. Azealia Banks

On Sunday, Banks came across a satirical news article that suggested that Palin had espoused some horrifying opinions about slavery in America. Among the quotes attributed to Palin was one that read, “Negroes loved being slaves and they were doing just fine under our rules. So, you see, you can’t really blame us for any of it, not legitimately.”

Unaware that the article was a fake, as were the quotes therein, Banks took to Twitter to hit back at Palin with more than a little vulgarity. Among the various sexual situations Banks wished upon Palin was for the “biggest burliest blackest negroes” to “run a train on her,” according to screengrabs taken by the Media Research Center.

Palin’s initial response to Banks was to post on Facebook, shaming her for being unaware of the illegitimacy of the article and for wishing for a fellow woman to be raped.

“Hey Female Rapper – listen up, little darling. No one has any idea what you’re wigging out about in these bizarre, violent rants against me, but you’re obviously not exercising enough intelligence to acknowledge you’ve been sucked into believing some fake interview,” Palin wrote. “And now I’ll go through my young daughter’s playlist to make sure there hasn’t been any inadvertent addition of any anti-woman, pro-rape garbage that you seem to endorse, which perpetuates the cultural challenges we face in America.”

Though it seemed as though Palin was content to let things go with her Facebook reply, she later released a statement confirming her intention to file a lawsuit against Banks.

“I’ve had enough of the unanswered threats and attacks against my family and me. So, for the first time I’m going to enjoy the only retribution some protected ‘celebrities’ seem to understand – I’m suing Azealia Banks and can’t wait to share my winnings with others who have gone defenseless against lies and dangerous attacks far too long,” Palin told People magazine in a statement. “Azealia engages in a form of racism and hate that is celebrated by some in the perverted arm of pop culture, but is condemned by those who know it’s tearing our country apart.”

Palin added, “Others may keep turning a blind eye to problems like Azealia’s mouth; I choose to take a stand against it and the double standards that result in her actually being rewarded for her divisive tactics and aggressively inciting violence.”

Banks has since offered Palin a lengthy apology for her Twitter rant on her Tumblr page. While the rapper had words of praise for Palin and expressed contrition for causing any “emotional distress or reputational scarring (sic),” she believes that her reaction was valid in light of the racial climate in the United States. Furthermore, Banks defended the verbiage of her tweets, claiming that nothing she said implied rape.

“In my honest defense, i was completely kidding. I happen to have a really crass, New-York-City sense of humor, and regularly make silly jokes in attempts make light of situations which make me uncomfortable,” Banks wrote. “Also, i never said you should be raped. I used the term ‘run a train,’ which is slang for group sex, NOT for ‘rape.’ There are many distinctions between the two. As a woman, I would never trivialize something as lewd and criminal to provide myself any sort of comic relief because it simply… just isn’t funny.”

As of yet, it’s unknown exactly how Palin intends to move forward with taking legal action against Banks.