Photo: WENN
Beyonce and Jay-Z are reportedly attempting to buy the rights to the Confederate flag following the recent racially motivated shooting in South Carolina.
Last month, 21-year-old Dylann Roof walked into a church in Charleston, South Carolina and shot dead nine African American people. A website apparently published by Roof that included a manifesto detailing his white supremacist views served as evidence that the attack was racially motivated.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Confederate flag became the subject of intense debate. Though it's considered a symbol of Southern pride by some, its origin comes from the unrecognised confederation of secessionist American states, all of whom were "slave states" whose economy was dependant upon African-American slavery.
After the Charleston shooting, the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina Confederate Monument was the only one that not flown at half-mast - because state law prohibits alteration of the flag without the consent of two-thirds of the state legislature.
Many high-profile celebrities, politicans and brands took the opportunity to condemn the flag's continuing existence, and now Newswatch33 reports that Beyonce and Jay-Z are attempting to buy the resell rights to it - meaning that anyone who wants to produce merchandise using the flag would have to get their permission.
The couple's lawyer, Ralph Hammerstein, reportedly said, "My clients are adament about purchasing the rights to the Rebel Confederate flag. They have expressed deep concern regarding the flag and how it is tearing apart our nation."
He added, "My clients have expressed that they are not looking to profit from the use of the flag, but rather prevent any further use of the flag on merchandise."
The rights to the flag would apparently set Beyonce and Jay Z back $280 million.
