Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesIt’s been the focus of legal battles for several years, but a letter that late rapper Tupac Shakur wrote to Madonna explaining why he ended their relationship is going up for auction next week.
As the New York Post notes, Madonna went to court in July of 2016 to prevent the public sale of the letter, claiming that she had a right to privacy, and that the letter was her “personal property.” But the New York Supreme Court ruled that in fact, she legally transferred the ownership of the letter to Darlene Lutz, her former art consultant, as part of a 2004 settlement.
The auction company Gotta Have It! Collectibles is putting the letter on the block July 17 with a starting bid of $100,000; it could bring up to $300,000.
Tupac wrote the three-page letter to Madonna in 1995 while in prison, explaining why he broke up with her.
He writes, “I must apologize to you….at the risk of sounding over dramatic, the effects of racism make it difficult for a young black man to properly show affection for an older white woman.”
He explains, “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 and exciting. But for me at least…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.”
Eerily, Tupac ends by writing that he wanted to reach out to her “just in case anything happened 2 me.” He warns her, “Please be careful Madonna. Everyone is not as honorable as they seem.”
In September of 1996, Tupac was shot and killed in Las Vegas.
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