Mike Epps is addressing controversial comments he made regarding how prison releases are celebrated and the effects of food stamps on the Black community. As Blavity previously reported, the comedian found himself in hot water with fans after arguing that government aid does more harm than good in the Black community. Epps also recently received backlash for criticizing how the Black community celebrates prison releases, WBLS reported.

According to The Grio, Epps turned to social media to explain his point of view and clarified that his comments were misunderstood. Here’s what he said and how fans are reacting to his explanation.

Epps said he feared celebrating prison releases would send kids the wrong message

During a Nov. 16 episode of Jim Jones’ Artist 2 Artist podcast, Mike Epps weighed in on how prison releases are often celebrated in the Black community, calling it not an achievement but a “failure,” Hollywood Unlocked reported.

“Those are the wrong journeys to celebrate, young men. There’s no reward after coming home after 30 years. You don’t get no f-ing care package, n***a. You’re a failure. Get your a*s out here and help these kids. Pay that back forward. You see what I’m saying? That’s the reward. I got n****s all the time [who] come straight home, [and] if I don’t do what they want me to do for them, I’m a sellout. I’m a sucker a n***a. I done did the whole bid with them. I done been to Walmart a hundred times, JPaying, meeting guards, doing all kinds of s**t I ain’t supposed to be doing f**kin’ with you, n***a,” he said on the show.

His comments didn’t go over well with fans or rapper Blueface, who responded to Epps’ take on social media.

“I think you should just stay in your place, brother,” the rapper said in a video, arguing that celebrating prison releases encourages those who may have been incarcerated to be “free” and “do better.”

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On Monday, Epps explained he didn’t mean the formerly incarcerated shouldn’t be celebrated for their newfound freedom; he just meant it may send young people the wrong message.

“I think you guys might have misunderstood what I was saying. I might have said it the wrong way, but what I was trying to say is, we don’t want to send kids mixed messages about coming home from prison being celebrated. You know, feeling like you’ve got to go to prison, do 30, 40 years to be celebrated,” Epps said.  

Epps said the Black community needs to ‘do better’ with reliance on food stamps

The 55-year-old also clarified comments he made about SNAP benefits he made during an appearance on The Breakfast Club. While on the morning radio show, he said he was “glad” SNAP benefits were put on pause during the recent government shutdown.

“I told people when these food stamps and stuff get cut off, ‘Don’t worry about that,’” he said on the show. “See, Black people, we’ve been getting our s**t cut off. We’ve been getting our doors kicked in and stuff. This is not for us.”

In his video addressing his recent comments, Epps explained that his views on food stamps were also “misunderstood.”

“What I was saying is that we need to break the cycle of being on food stamps,” he said in the clip. “There are three generations of people who have been on food stamps, of grandmother, mother and daughter, that’s crazy. We gotta do better. We can’t think that we need assistance. I know there are some people out there that need assistance, that’s well, fine, and understood, but there are people out there taking advantage of the system, that’s not good.” 

The comedian then apologized to “anybody [who] took it the wrong way and got offended.”

Mike Epps speaks out after facing backlash for saying people shouldn't be celebrated just for coming home from prison.pic.twitter.com/7RYiutiImc— No Jumper (@nojumper) November 24, 2025

The post Mike Epps Apologizes For Controversial Comments About Food Stamps, Prison Release Celebrations appeared first on Blavity.



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