A newly unearthed letter that rapper Tupac wrote while in prison is going up for auction. The letter, written while serving time for a sexual assault charge in 1995, is addressed to Madonna. “I haven’t been the kind of friend I know I am capable of being,” the letter begins.
In it, Tupac details why he could no longer be with the “Living on a Prayer” singer. “Can u understand that? For you to be seen with a black man wouldn’t in any way jeopardize your career, if anything it would make you seem that much more open & exciting,” he wrote. “But for me at least in my previous perception I felt due to my ‘image’ I would be letting down half of the people who made me what I thought I was. I never meant to hurt you.”
Madonna, who spoke to the press about their relationship, was accused by Pac as coming off as using black culture to further her own career. “An interview where you said ‘I’m off to rehabilitate all the rappers & basketball players’ or something to that effect, those words cut me deep seeing how I had never known you to be with any rappers besides myself,” he wrote. “It was at this moment out of hurt and a natural instinct to strike back and defend my heart and ego that I said a lot of things…Can you feel me?”
The letter will go to auction on July 19 through Gotta Have Rock and Roll. Bidding starts at $100,000 USD. Tupac finishes the letter by offering a warning to Madge: “Please be careful Madonna. Everyone is not as honorable as they seem. There are those whose hearts bleed with envy & evil. They would not hesitate to do you harm! Let my 5 bullets be proof of that!”