*Grammy-winning Mary J. Blige raised several eyebrows this week after a video went viral of her singing to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Now she’s defending her actions in a new interview, explaining how she decided to sing Bruce Springsteen’s “American Skin” to Clinton while filming her new Apple Music show because she believed it was the most effective way to express herself.
“I wanted to incorporate the song in the show because the lyrics resonated with me so deeply and so heavily because of all the shootings and police brutality and I never got a chance to say anything,” Blige said Wednesday while promoting her new series, “The 411.”
“I’m a singer first …so that’s the only way I can express myself and …the only way I can get that reaction from (Hillary) is to sing it,” she continued.
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NY Daily News notes how Mary chose to perform the song about the killing of Amadou Diallo by New York City police in 1999 because, “The lyrics impacted me so heavily and deeply, it made me cry.”
“It’s like a prayer that I needed Ms. Clinton to be impacted the same way so the only way I can get that reaction from her is to sing it.”
Blige admits that her conversation with Clinton was important primarily because she hasn’t been vocal during instances of police brutality.
“I never got a chance to say anything [about police brutality] so I got an opportunity to interview Hillary Clinton and somebody like me would never get an opportunity like that — ever.”
On her conversation with Hillary, Blige says, “I was blown away by how organic and real she was. When I met her, she was generally concerned about what I was doing. She hugged me like a grandma — and I needed that hug at the moment.”
The debut episode of “The 411 with Mary J Blige” premieres on Apple Music on Sept. 30.
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