After falsely accusing a resident named Tupac Shakur of using a fraudulent name to apply for unemployment benefits, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the man to apologize.
“We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky,” Beshear said at a press briefing Monday evening, according to The Hill. “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.”
But it was actually the man’s real name. That’s right, there is a 46-year-old Lexington resident named Tupac Malik Shakur who needs his unemployment benefits.
Shakur, who goes by his middle name Malik, used to work as a cook before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic hit, reported the Lexington Herald Leader.
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“I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills,” Shakur said, not realizing he hadn’t received his benefits yet because the state thought his application was a prank. “I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur said. “He needs to apologize. That’s just my name.”
That’s exactly what Beshear did when he learned of his error.
“I talked to him on the phone today. I apologized,” Beshear said. “I told him how it happened. But it’s my fault. He was gracious. I said I’m sorry if I embarrassed him or caused him any attention he didn’t want. He ended the call ‘God bless.'”
Shakur told the Herald Leader he changed his name in the late 1990s after the legendary artist, Tupac Amaru Shakur, was killed. Shakur said he’d converted to his father’s Islamic faith and found out the name meant “thankful to God” in Arabic.
Aside from Beshear’s account of their call, Shakur’s grace towards the governor was displayed in his interview with the Herald Leader.
“I understand, he’s dealing with a lot,” Shakur said. “Mistakes happen.”
