Ben Carson blamed his staff for the notorious rap radio advertisement that was released last year, saying he was “horrified” by the ad and that his campaign is much better run since a staff shakeup around New Year’s.

“I did not approve that, and when it came out I said, why did you put that out? What are you thinking?” Carson told a crowd at Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa, gathered for BET’s #AllVotesMatter Twitter Town Hall. “I was horrified.”

Called “Freedom,” the 60 second rap by the rapper Aspiring Mogul contains bits of Carson speaking throughout…

“It was done by people who have no concept of the black community and what they were doing,” Carson told the audience at Drake University. When asked why he didn’t stop the advertisement, Carson said, “I should have but they stuck it out without me knowing.”