Kentucky Governor Accidentally Accuses Tupac Shakur Namesake of Jokingly Applying for Unemployment

A resident from the state of Kentucky recently received an apology from Governor Andy Beshear after being accused of filing a false unemployment application in the name of Tupac Shakur, Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

It just so happens that this resident’s legal name is really Tupac Shakur and he was indeed in need of unemployment insurance. The government attempted to publicly check the act, referring to the act as “being funny.”

“We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “And that person may have thought they were being funny, they probably did. Except for the fact that because of them, we had to go through so many other claims.”

Of course, the governor was referring to the late hip-hop icon, Tupac Shakur. However, he was certainly mistaken.

Tupac Shakur, who is also known as Malik, was employed as a cook at the Alfalfa Restaurant and Lynagh Irish Pub in Lexington and both establishments have been closed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Shakur unemployed.

According to Herald-Leader, Shakur became a practitioner of Islam in the early 90s after his father passed away. In 1998, he legally changed his name, two years after the “California Love” rapper was killed.

“I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur told the Herald-Leader. “He needs to apologize. That’s just my name.”

Governor Beshear has since apologized directly to Shakur after the Lexington, Kentucky publication passed on his contact information to the Governor’s office.