Rapper and actor Common is facing criticism online after comments he made during an appearance on Scene Stealers, hosted by John Feitelberg for Out of Order . The Go rapper reflected on former President George W. Bush and suggested that his perspective on the former president had softened after watching Bush’s interactions with the Obama family.
“The more we understand each other and ourselves, the more compassion we have for each other. We could even be like, ‘I don’t agree with you, but you know what? I understand you. I have empathy for your situation.'”
He explained that portraying Robert Sims, a government official in his latest project, challenged some of his assumptions about people in positions of power.
“Robert Sims has taught me that everyone that is always working to try to save people within the government, they’re not all bad.”
Common admitted that he had spent years criticizing George W. Bush, both politically and musically, but said a moment at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center made him reconsider certain aspects of Bush’s character.
“I’ve said a lot of things about George Bush because I just don’t support what he has done and did as president. I was saying what I needed to say in music because that was my way of getting it out.”
He continued:
“One of the real reasons I initially started voting was to vote against him.”
According to Common, seeing Bush warmly embraced by Michelle Obama caused him to rethink some of his assumptions.
“As I saw him supporting the Obamas and being there, and Michelle Obama giving him respect—who I ultimately hold in a high place—it was like, man, this person may have evolved.”
He clarified that he was not endorsing Bush’s presidency.
“I’m not a supporter like, ‘Go Bush,’ but it just was like, this is a person.”
Feitelberg responded jokingly:
“Isn’t that the worst? Someone you don’t like—like, ‘Ah, are you actually a person?'”
Common agreed.
“Yeah, exactly. Some people, they are people.”
Social-media backlash
The comments immediately sparked backlash from many users who argued that Bush’s political legacy, particularly the Iraq War and the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, outweighs any personal warmth he may display in public.
One user, French Canadian Montana, wrote:
“Bush was responsible for killing over a million of my people. There is no redemption arc for certain people. This is disappointing.”
Political commentator Matt Binder criticized what he described as the rehabilitation of Bush’s public image:
“Michelle single-handedly laundered and resuscitated Bush’s image and public standing.”
Another response read:
“I don’t care how many pieces of candy Michelle Obama gives George Bush. It will never change the fact that Bush led a genocidal war that slaughtered one million Iraqis.”
Others pointed to Hurricane Katrina and Bush’s handling of the disaster. One user wrote:
“Bush’s handling of Katrina was a radicalizing experience for me. I will NEVER forgive George Bush for it.”
The backlash is partly fueled by Common’s long history of outspoken criticism in his music and activism.
In the Scene Stealers interview, Common revealed:
“One of the real reasons I initially started voting was to vote against him.”
In the interview, Common ultimately framed his change in perspective not as forgiveness, but as recognition of another person’s humanity:
“I still may not agree with those things. … It just was like, this is a person.”
Common plays Robert Sims character in the Apple TV+’s sci-fi series Silo which is now in season 3. Set in a dystopian future where the last 10,000 humans live inside a massive underground bunker, the show follows engineer Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) as she uncovers secrets that challenge everything society has been taught. Sims, the powerful head of security for Judicial, the silo’s ruling authority, who ruthlessly enforces the government’s rules and protects its darkest secrets. By Season 3, however, Sims loses much of his power, forcing him to confront personal struggles and the collapse of his control.
