US rapper Meek Mill has apologized for surreptitiously filming a music video in Ghana’s presidential palace, also known as Jubilee House.
The star caused uproar with the video, which saw him lip-syncing in the palace’s corridors and halls – and even behind the presidential lectern.
He was accused of “desecrating” Jubilee House, while MPs raised questions about the potential security risks.
In a statement, Mill said he would “take responsibility for my mistake”.
“To the people of Ghana, no video I drop is ever meant to disrespect the people of Ghana,” he wrote.
“The fastest way to make connection is thru music [sic] and I wanted to do that with displaying art. I’m in my 30s from America and didn’t know much about the lifestyle.”
He added that officials for Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, may not have been aware he was shooting a music video, saying the set-up had been “a small camera and a kid”.
The president’s office has not commented on the story; and Mill has removed his video from Instagram.
Mill, who was born Robert Rihmeek Williams in South Philadelphia, travelled to Ghana last month, after learning in an ancestry test that he was 18% Ghanaian.
He performed at the Afronation concert in Accra, rode dirt bikes in the city streets, and was later invited to see Jubilee House.
The footage he filmed during his visit was uploaded to Instagram on Sunday, provoking outrage in the West African nation.
