All Jokes Aside, Tupac Shakur Still Needs His Unemployment Check [Video]

While speaking about unemployment updates during a daily live-streamed update on Tuesday evening, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear scolded some “bad apples” for filing fake claims like the one the government received for Tupac Shakur, the iconic rapper who was famously killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting in 1996.

In explaining why the remainder of the March unemployment claims may take a little while longer to sort out, Beshear noted, “A couple of bad apples can make this challenge that much more difficult. For instance, we had someone file for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky. And that person probably thought they were being funny. They probably did. Except for the fact that because of them, we’ve gotta go through so many other claims that one person thinking that they were funny using somebody else’s identity is gonna make tens of thousands potentially of other people wait. It’s not okay. We can’t be doing that, and we shouldn’t be doing that as we move forward.”

Despite his good intentions, however, Beshear made an unfortunate mistake: There is actually a man named Tupac Shakur that lives in Kentucky, and he’s still waiting on his unemployment check.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, “Tupac Malik Shakur, 46, goes by Malik. He lives in Lexington and worked as a cook at Alfalfa’s and Lynagh’s in Lexington before they closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19. On March 13, the first day he could, he applied for unemployment insurance. On March 17, he got his monetary determination letter. He has been waiting on his unemployment money ever since.”

“I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills.” Mr. Shakur told the Herald-Leader. “I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked. He needs to apologize. That’s just my name.”

Beshear reportedly called Tupac on Tuesday morning to apologize for the mix-up after the Hearald-Leader provided the governor with his phone number. The state is now working to resolve and pay out Tupac’s unemployment claim.

“I understand, he’s dealing with a lot,” Shakur noted this morning. “Mistakes happen.”

Hang in there, Tupac. If the unemployment doesn’t come through, you can always turn to the “Thug Life.”

Watch Beshear give the address in question below (or skip to 4:50 to hear him admonish Tupac Shakur for his “fake” claim):

[Video: KET – Kentucky Educational Television]

[H/T Lexington Herald-Leader]