Celebrities continue to speak out against US hip-hop artist Kanye West's remarks after he claimed the enslavement of African Americans over centuries sounded like a "choice".
Mr West sparked fresh outrage on Monday when he appeared on TMZ and claimed slavery over the centuries sounded "like a choice".
In response to the public outcry, US artist and social activist Will.i.am appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday and labelled Mr West's comments about slavery as "ignorant".
"That broke my heart. I thought about my grandmother who was born in 1920, and her connection with her mum who raised her, who was born in the late 1800s," Will.i.am said.
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"And my grandmother's grandma who was a slave. And when you're a slave, you are owned.
"You don't choose if you're owned. When you're a slave you are deprived of education. That's not choice, that's by force. I understand the need to have free thought. But if your thoughts aren't researched, that is just going to hurt those who are still in conditions where it's not choice."
Will.i.am added that the remark: "Was one of the most ignorant statements that anybody who came from the hood could say about their ancestors. That slavery is a choice. What are you talking about?"
Mr West appeared on TMZ on Monday, US time, where he said: "You hear about slavery for 400 years, for 400 years, that sounds like a choice."
"Like, you was there for 400 years and it's all of y'all? It's like we're mentally imprisoned."
Mr West took to Twitter afterwards to clarify his comments.
"My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved," he tweeted, according to the BBC.
Mr West's initial remarks immediately sparked an uproar on Twitter, his favourite medium, and he was taken to task live by a TMZ employee who said he was "appalled."
The hashtag 'IfSlaveryWasAChoice' trended on social media and many celebrities, including fellow musicians, slammed Mr West for the comments.
US hip-hop artist Talib Kweli said Mr West's comments put "targets on our backs".
While comedian Romesh Ranganathan appeared to reference Mr West's first album, College Dropout, in a tweet.
Civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson, who was retweeted by musician John Legend, pointed out Mr West's remarks "continues to fuel the racist right-wing folks who believe that black people are responsible for their oppression."
