It is no joke — Tupac Shakur lives in Kentucky and needs unemployment benefits to pay his bills.
The Lexington man’s name was brought up by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Monday night when he spoke about how the state is trying to process all unemployment claims filed last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic by today.
A few “bad apples” — including a person who filed an unemployment claim under the name of rapper Tupac Shakur, who was killed in a 1996 shooting — were responsible for slowing down the state’s unemployment processing, Beshear said.
Beshear blamed people who “think they’re funny” for making “thousands of other people wait” for their unemployment payments, but the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Tupac Malik Shakur, 46, who goes by Malik, lives in Lexington and worked as a cook before restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 shut down all the restaurants.
He filed for unemployment March 13 and has been waiting to receive his first check.
“I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills,” Shakur said.
He told the newspaper he wondered why his benefits were being held up, but did not think the state government would declare his claim a prank.
“I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur said.
Beshear’s office originally said the state government could not verify the identity on the application, but after getting information from the newspaper, it is working to resolve the claim.
Beshear on Tuesday called Shakur personally to apologize, and Shakur said that he appreciated the gesture and forgave Beshear.
“I understand, he’s dealing with a lot,” Shakur said. “Mistakes happen.”
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