Jay-Z's offhand comment: "thinking about" moving to Brooklyn but "prices are really high"

At a charity auction for his foundation, Jay-Z was briefly interviewed by E Online, which turned it into a 9/20/11 headline, Jay-Z Talks Baby, Moving to Brooklyn, Obama:

Speaking of money, Jay said he may move to Brooklyn like his basketball team, the New Jersey Nets...if he can afford it!

"I have been thinking about it, but the prices over there are really high," he laughed. "It's not like before!"

The Daily News turned that secondhand comment into a headline, Jay-Z: I'm 'thinking about' moving to Brooklyn but 'prices are really high'.

It's hard to believe that wasn't more than an offhand comment, but it's still tone deaf. As one reader commented on E Online:

No way Brooklyn is more expensive than Tribeca!

(Jay-Z has a place in TriBeCa and a house in Scarsdale.)

Or, as a New York Daily News reader commented:

Is he serious! He can afford to buy Brooklyn! Sheesh. People with money cry, while they have a loaf of bread under arm.

Or another:

I am certain Jay-Z was being facetious. With the amount of cash he and his wife have, they could live anywhere. Does anyone actually believe that Brooklyn is more expensive than Manhattan? That's a joke!

Also note how Jay-Z's less than 1% interest in the Nets becomes "his basketball team."