Flavor Flav fired by Public Enemy after he refused to back Bernie Sanders

Hype man jettisoned after 37 years with hip-hop group

Public Enemy have parted ways with Flavor Flav after he refused to back 2020 presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.

A statement said the hype man would no longer be working with the group after 37 years as a member.

“Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav,” the statement to Pitchfork said.

“We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.”

The news comes after Public Enemy founder and frontman Chuck D led a concert for the Sanders campaign in Los Angeles, without the involvement of Flavor Flav.

Flav, whose real name is William Drayton, responded by sending a cease and desist letter to Mr Sanders, who is currently frontrunner in the contest to face Donald Trump in the presidential election in November.

In the letter, he said he objected to the use of Public Enemy as a tool for political endorsement. It accused Sanders' campaign of advancing a “misleading narrative” that Public Enemy has endorsed him.

The letter also claimed that the Sanders campaign circulated “the unauthorised use of [Flavor Flav’s] likeness, image and trademarked clock in promotional materials”.

“Those who truly know what Public Enemy stands for know what time it is,” he said. “There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.”

On Saturday, 29 February, Chuck D and his attorney issued a statement saying he was the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark.

“From a legal standpoint, Chuck could perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to; he is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark," the statement said.

“He originally drew the logo himself in the mid-Eighties, is also the creative visionary and the group’s primary songwriter, having written Flavor’s most memorable lines.”