Some other Tupac Shakur accepts apology from governor who accused him of falsifying unemployment claim

Tupac Shakur is a man from Kentucky who, like so many, has lost his job because of the coronavirus pandemic. He’s a real guy and, though he shares a name with another Tupac you might’ve heard of, is neither a rapper or a person who died in 1996. Still, despite likely having lived a life filled with more Office Space Michael Bolton moments than he can count, Shakur has been faced with probably the worst name-related situation of his life so far: Being accused by Kentucky governor Andy Beshear of falsifying an unemployment claim during a televised press conference.

An article by the New York Daily News describes the full story, which started with Beshear calling out the man who “may have thought they were being funny” when submitting an unemployment benefit application under “Tupac Shakur” while mentioning fake claims during a Monday night conference. “Because of them,” Beshear continued, “we had to go through so many other claims.”

As it turns out, Shakur wasn’t being funny. He’s a real person who lives in Lexington, recently lost his job at a restaurant, and is legally named Tupac Shakur (though he “goes by his middle name, Malik.”) With all eyes on him, Beshear called Shakur yesterday with an apology and made a point to admit to his mistake in another conference held yesterday.

The Kentucky Shakur told Beshear, in so many words, that he ain’t mad atcha, explaining to the local news that “mistakes happen” and that he understands the governor’s currently “dealing with a lot.” If you’d like to watch a great compilation of Beshear’s accusation of and apology to Shakur, though, there’s a nice little bit of schadenfreude available on YouTube thanks to a channel called duMortier.

Of course, even with everything cleared up, we imagine this will only inspire new rumors that Tupac (the original one) is actually alive and well. Our only hope is that people respect social distancing and leave him in peace to continue hiding out in rural Kentucky in a big house with his roommates, the Notorious B.I.G., J.F.K., Elvis, the real Lindbergh Baby, and that Bigfoot from the Patterson-Gimlin film.

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