A Google search for ‘Boondocks characters’ has surprisingly showed Kanye West as the series’ main antagonist.
The Boondocks is a popular animated sitcom about a black family that has moved into a mostly-white suburb. Run originally on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block from 2005 to 2014, the series is scheduled for a reboot on HBO Max with a two-season order starting next fall.
Possibly the most repulsive and ignorant character of the series is Uncle Ruckus, an old black man who identifies as a white man and claims to be suffering from a “reverse vitiligo” to explain his skin tone.
In one episode, Uncle Ruckus says during a prayer: “I start each day by thanking the white man for the sunrise.”
It appears that someone has thought Kanye West is the good fit for this role, as multiple users searching for the ‘Boondocks characters’ or ‘Uncle Ruckus’ on the web have spotted the rapper’s headshot with a MAGA hat where Uncle Ruckus’ image was supposed to be.
The Wikipedia article for the character was also apparently changed to read “Uncle Ruckus, Related to Kanye West” but currently reads “Uncle Ruckus, No Relation.”
As of the time of writing this, the thumbnail preview features no picture at all.
It appears to be impossible to identify the prankster, if he or she doesn’t come out, so this story is more of a whydunit rather than a whodunit.
Kanye has drawn quite a lot of criticism from the self-described liberals after doubling down on his support for Donald Trump and supporting conservative commentators such as Candace Owens.
After Kanye famously met with Donald Trump in the Oval Office last year, Gary Anthony Williams, the voice actor doing Uncle Ruckus, sarcastically praised that decision.
Just this week, Kanye encouraged black US voters – who overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 – “not to just vote Democrat for the rest of our lives.” He delivered the call just days after claiming that Democrats had “brainwashed” black Americans into aborting their children.
His newly-released gospel-themed album, Jesus is King, was also seen by some leftist critics through the lens of his political and cultural beliefs.
For example, an outraged review by The Daily Beast accused Kanye of representing “an anti-black mindset” and “being enamoured and obsessed with white approval,” while The Washington Post described his album as a mixture of “black gospel music [and] white evangelical theology.”
Kanye, who is flirting with the idea of a 2024 White House run, says he’s not afraid of the backlash. “I told you I’m only afraid of God,” he said in an interview last month. “I’m telling you that God is showing you that you can have your own thoughts, bro. I been cancelled before there was cancel culture.”