The daughter of Malcolm X stormed out of the studio during a radio show after questions arose about a book claiming that her late father had a gay lover years before he became an arbiter of social justice.
Ilyasah Shabazz was on the NPR show Tell Me More on Wednesday. The host, Michel Martin, asked several questions about the accuracy of the book by Manning Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. Marable, who was friends with Shabazz, died April 1, days before the book was finally released.
Shabazz said that over the course of 20 years that it took for Marable to research and write the book, he never formally consulted her or any of her other family members on her father's life. She said she especially took issue with the alleged revelation that Malcolm X was bisexual and had a relationship with an older man.
"My father was an open book," she said, according to an NPR transcript. "And we actually have four of the missing chapters from the autobiography. And, you know, he is very clear in his activities, which nothing included being gay. And certainly he didn't have anything against gay -- he was for human rights, human justice, you know. So if he had a gay encounter, he likely would've talked about it. And what he did talk about was someone else's encounter."
After several more questions, Shabazz walked out on the interview.
Read the full transcript or listen to the exchange at NPR.org.
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