Jay Z is one of the most successful American entertainers and businessmen. He’s married to an equally successful entertainer and the couple recently hobnobbed with Prince William and Kate. But to Fox News and Fox Nation, Jay Z’s most notable resumé item is that he’s a “former crack dealer.”

Jay Z is the kind of rags-to-riches American success story you’d think Fox News would celebrate. None other than Fox regular Steve Forbes, who has a Fox News show named after him, said Jay Z “epitomizes the essence of the American entrepreneurial spirit.” Forbes also called Jay Z “inspiring” and likened him to Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates

But Fox News describes Jay Z as a former crack dealer.

Here’s the beginning of the Fox Nation post, taken from sister company New York Post:

When you need advice on a subject, you go to an expert.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) did just that when he had a policy meeting on the subject of how cops enforce the laws with hip-hop mogul Jay Z — who earned most of his expertise in crime as a crack dealer.

Jay Z didn’t meet with Cuomo to give insights into crime but into law enforcement in the black community. Fox Nation acknowledges that in one sentence that forms the fourth paragraph of its nine-paragraph report: “The two discussed 'a top-to-bottom review of the criminal justice system and how we can all work together to pass a reform package,'” the governor’s spokeswoman is quoted as saying.

Then the article spends the next three paragraphs discussing Jay Z’s long past criminal history.

Similarly, Sean Hannity echoed the same sentiments in a discussion last night. It featured a large graphic on the lower third of the screen blaring, “CUOMO’S CRIME EXPERT.”

That’s bad enough on the face of it. But Fox News has quite a history of burying the criminal pasts of many of its white experts:

• There’s Fox contributor Mark Fuhrman, who pled no contest to perjury when he testified in the O.J. Simpson trial that he had not used a racial slur in the past 10 years. Not only has that been whitewashed out of his Fox bio, Fuhrman is one of their regular go-to guys for sensitive race discussions. I've never heard his very relevant racial history mentioned.

• There’s Fox News host Oliver North, convicted of covering up the Reagan administration’s role in the Iran-Contra scandal (the convictions were later overturned on a technicality). North’s Fox biography makes him out to be a hero:

North is a combat-decorated Marine, author, founder of a small business, inventor who holds three U.S. patents, syndicated columnist and former candidate for the United States Senate.

Assigned to the National Security Council staff in the Reagan Administration, North was involved in planning the rescue of 804 medical students on the island of Grenada and played a major role in the daring capture of the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. After helping plan the U.S. raid on Muammar Qaddafi’s terrorist bases in Libya, North was targeted for assassination by Abu Nidal, the world’s deadliest assassin.

• There’s Bernard Kerik, recently seen on Fox as a police expert during the Eric Garner protests.  In 2009, Kerik pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, including corruption and tax fraud, and was sentenced to four years in jail. But host Neil Cavuto introduced Kerik merely as a former New York City police commissioner. Megyn Kelly introduced Kerik as, “a former New York City police commissioner and a former NYPD officer who received the New York City Police Department medal for valor.” However, Kelly did make a point of noting that Garner was a convicted felon.

So let’s see, what’s the difference between these examples and Jay Z? Well, Furhman, North and Kerik are conservatives. And they’re all white. But I’m sure race has nothing to do with it.

Watch the December 12 Hannity segment below.