Flavor Flav Refuses to Leave Public Enemy as Chuck D Says 'It's Time to Move On'

It seems like Flavor Flav won’t be leaving Public Enemy without a fight.

“You can’t fire me. There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav,” the rapper tweeted on Monday, a day after Public Enemy released a statement saying they “will be moving forward without” him. The group’s announcement came after Flav filed a cease-and-desist letter to the Bernie Sanders campaign following Chuck D’s announcement that the group would perform at the presidential candidate’s rally on Sunday.

Flav fired off a series of tweets on Monday slamming his Public Enemy co-founder Chuck D for letting “politics” come between the famed collective. In response, Public Enemy released a statement obtained by EW saying that Flav was not fired over “his political views” and that this incident was the “last straw for the group.”

“@MrChuckD are you kidding me right now???,,,over Bernie Sanders???” Flav tweeted Monday. “You wanna destroy something we’ve built over 35 years OVER POLITICS???,,,all because I don’t wanna endorse a candidate,,,I’m very disappointed in you and your decisions right now Chuck,,,”

He also explained his choice to send Sanders’ a cease-and-desist letter, which said: “While Chuck is certainly free to express his political views as he sees fit — his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy.”

In a follow-up tweet on Monday, the famous hypeman and reality TV star wrote: “you can’t fire me,,,there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.” He added, “And .@MrChuckD,,,i didn’t sue you on Friday,,,i asked the @berniesanders campaign to correct misleading marketing. that’s all it was,,,I’m not your employee,,,i’m your partner,,,you can’t fire me,,,there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav,,,so let’s get it right Chuck,,,”

In a final tweet, Flav set the record straight on Chuck D’s claims that he “better find REHAB.”

“Also .@MrChuckD,,,i’m not on drugs like you’re saying and have been clean for 10 years,,,” he shared. “i have battled addiction before and like millions of other Americans I know the massive toll it takes,,,Chuck you know better than to lie about shit like that,,,,”

In a response statement on Monday, signed by Chuck D, James Bomb, Pop Diesel, DJ Lord, and Jahi, the group wrote, “Flavor Flav has been on suspension since 2016 when he was MIA from the Harry Belafonte benefit in Atlanta, Georgia. That was the last straw for the group. He had previously missed numerous live gigs from Glastonbury to Canada, album recording sessions and photo shoots. He always chose to party over work.

“Public Enemy Radio toured Europe and co-headlined with the Wu-Tang Clan in May 2019 without Flavor. They have also done numerous benefit shows without Flavor. While Public Enemy Radio was moving forward, Flavor Flav was starring on the reality show “Growing up Hip Hop New York,” where an episode featured his children discussing an intervention and putting him into rehab. It’s time to move on and everyone wishes Flavor well.”

The statement echoed comments Chuck D made on Twitter Sunday, saying the split was a long time coming and that Flav’s values didn’t line up with Public Enemy’s reputation as a politically charged group.

“The last final note was my last straw was long ago,” he wrote on Sunday. “It’s not about BERNIE with Flav… he don’t know the difference between BarrySanders or BernieSanders he don’t know either.”

While Flav and Chuck D founded the group together in the mid-’80s, Chuck D’s lawyer told EW on Monday that legally, he can use the name “Public Enemy” however he likes.

“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 read. “He originally drew the logo himself in the mid-’80s, is also the creative visionary and the group’s primary songwriter, having written Flavor’s most memorable lines.”

EW reached out to representatives for Flavor Flav for further comment.