In a recent interview with DJ Whoo Kid, veteran rapper Snoop Dogg reflected on a period where he was nearly banished from the United Kingdom and how Queen Elizabeth II stepped in to prevent that from happening.
The calls for the 50-year-old to be permanently exiled from the European country in 1993 stemmed from his highly publicized murder trial, BET reported. At the time, the Drop It Like It’s Hot rapper was facing first-degree murder charges for the fatal shooting of Philip Woldermariam. And though he was ultimately acquitted, some people reportedly still had issues with his past.
“They kicked me out the UK. ‘Kick this evil bastard out,’” Snoop Dogg said in reference to a 1994 Daily Star headline, Complex reported. “It’s a headline, n***a. That sh*t is documented. They had a picture of me on the front […] They was like, ‘Kick this evil bastard out.’”
The Los Angeles native said British people called on authorities to deny him entry into their country as a result of the deadly shooting incident. “This was while I was fighting a murder case, over there [UK] doing shows …” he recalled. “But guess who came to my defense? Just take a guess,” he asked DJ Whoo Kid before later revealing it was the queen.
“The queen, n***a. The queen said, ‘This man has done nothing in our country. He can come,’” he said. “The queen, n***a, bow down. When the queen speak, bow down. That’s Harry and Williams’ grandmother, you dig? You think you think they weren’t there saying, ‘Grandma, please let him in, grandma. He’s OK. We love his music.’ ‘You know Harry, I’ll let him in for you. He’s not so bad after all and he’s quite cute.’ … The queen, that’s my gal.”
The 50-year-old rapper has in the past also spoken about the queen’s support when there were calls for him to be denied entry into the United Kingdom. In an interview some years back, Snoop Dogg said he got into the queen’s good books after Prince William and Prince Harry shared positive reviews about his music.
“When they tried to kick me out of England, the Queen made a comment that her grandbabies loved Snoop Doggy Dogg, and he had done no wrong in Britain, so she gave me permission to be in the country,” he said at the time.
“Those grandbabies grew up to be Prince William and Harry, so I had influence on them, and they had influence on their grandmother, which enabled me to get into this beautiful country. They love my music, and it is what it is. There’s a mutual love and respect.”
