--- description: Public Enemy said it would "move forward" without longtime hype man Flavor Flav after a dispute over endorsing Bernie Sanders. title: Public Enemy 'Moving Forward' Without Flava Flav After Bernie Sanders Rally Dispute image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc7b3cdc715ce8e1/698a0ae14ee26243ef31726a/Flavor-Flav-Grammys.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Music](/tag/music/) ## Music Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Public Enemy 'Moving Forward' Without Flava Flav After Bernie Sanders Rally Dispute  by [Ciara Nugent](/author/ciara-nugent/)  ## Ciara Nugent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2020 1:35 PM CUT  Flavor Flav attends the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. Flavor Flav attends the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA.Patrick McMullan –Getty Images  by [Ciara Nugent](/author/ciara-nugent/)  ## Ciara Nugent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2020 1:35 PM CUT Legendary hip hop group Public Enemy announced Sunday that it will be “moving forward” without Flavor Flav, its hype man of some 35 years, after a disagreement over a Bernie Sanders rally. Flavor Flav had clashed with Chuck D, the group’s other remaining founding member, over the latter’s performance at a Sanders rally in Los Angeles Sunday evening with his offshoot group Public Enemy Radio. Flavor Flav sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign on Friday, arguing that the rally performance would give a “misleading” and “irresponsible” impression that Public Enemy as a whole endorsed the candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Flavor Flav said he “had not endorsed any political candidate.” In a [series of tweets](https://twitter.com/MrChuckD/status/1234155374162300928 "undefined") Sunday, Chuck D told fans he was a “political artist” known for “\[making himself\] heard.” The political rift appears to have put a permanent end to the collaboration between Chuck D and Flavor Flav, who were founding members of Public Enemy in the mid 1980’s and became known for their groundbreaking lyrics tackling racial inequality and police brutality. It is the latest in a series of public disputes between the two artists, including[ a lawsuit brought by Flavor Flav against Chuck D](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flavor-flav-sues-chuck-d-public-enemy-camp-over-profits-114578/ "undefined") in 2017 alleging he was owed thousands of dollars in Public Enemy profits. “Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav,” representatives of Public Enemy said in a statement provided to [_Rolling Stone_](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/public-enemy-flavor-flav-bernie-sanders-960272/ "undefined") on Sunday. “We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.” Flavor Flav’s lawyer responded to the announcement in a statement sent to [_USA Today:_](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/03/01/flavor-flav-slams-bernie-sanders-campaign-promoting-public-enemy-show/4923987002/ "undefined") “Sanders claims to represent ‘everyman’ not ‘the man’ yet his grossly irresponsible handling of Chuck’s endorsement threatens to divide Public Enemy and, in doing so, forever silences one of our nation’s loudest and most enduring voices for social change.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793432/public-enemy-bernie-sanders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793432/public-enemy-bernie-sanders/"},"headline":"Public Enemy 'Moving Forward' Without Flava Flav After Bernie Sanders Rally Dispute","datePublished":"2020-03-02T13:35:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:26.007Z","description":"Flav opposed another founding member's decision to support Sanders","url":"https://time.com/5793432/public-enemy-bernie-sanders/","keywords":["Music","2020 Election","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc7b3cdc715ce8e1/698a0ae14ee26243ef31726a/Flavor-Flav-Grammys.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ciara Nugent","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ciara-nugent/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc7b3cdc715ce8e1/698a0ae14ee26243ef31726a/Flavor-Flav-Grammys.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Flavor Flav Grammys","caption":"Flavor-Flav-Public-Enemy-split","creditText":"Patrick McMullan –Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/music/","name":"Music"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793432/public-enemy-bernie-sanders/","name":"Public Enemy 'Moving Forward' Without Flava Flav After Bernie Sanders Rally Dispute"}}]}] ```