Sexyy Red joined the many social media users who paid tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King by sharing an AI-generated image of herself and the late, great civil rights icon on X. The “U My Everything” rapper quickly deleted the post and apologized after being called out by King’s daughter, Dr. Bernice King.
The now-deleted photo depicted the rapper and Dr. King in a sensual embrace. Dr. Bernice, known for protecting her father’s image, advised Sexyy Red to remove it.
In her response, Dr. Bernice called the image “intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful,” urging the rapper to “please delete” it. The 26-year-old artist agreed with King’s assessment and removed the photo. She also expressed regret for her lack of discernment in sharing the image.
“You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just posted something I saw that I thought was innocent.”
King was not the first to notice the post. Many X users criticized Sexyy Red’s actions and verbally attacked her character.
In accepting the apology, Bernice made it clear that she would not join in the slander of a young Black woman. King insists that she values the “Skee Yee” rapper as a “human being” and does not intend for the young lady to be denigrated in any fashion. Instead, she emphasized the importance of honoring her father for his invaluable service to the nation—a task she is committed to continuing as needed.
“My father has become a bit of a caricature to the world and that his image is often used with no regard to his family, his sacrificial work, or to the tragic, unjust way in which he died (a state-sanctioned assassination).
Unfortunately, I regularly challenge the disregard.”
Unfortunately, using Rev. Dr. King’s image is not the only thing being made a mockery of. Dr. King’s message has been cherry-picked and reduced to quotables that help advance the nation’s politics and promote reductive policies. As Martin Luther King Jr. Day fell on President Trump’s first day in office, it was not surprising that his message was used to prop up the incoming president.
Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell gave a message at the end of Trump’s inauguration, using words from Dr. King’s 1963 I Have a Dream speech to insinuate the incoming president was called to disrupt the nation.
“We are grateful that you are the one that has called him for such a time as this, that America would begin to dream again.”
Sewell prays these words despite Trump championing groups like the Jan. 6 rioters who committed hateful acts, promoting the expulsion of millions of immigrants using xenophobic rhetoric, and actively planning to dismantle federal DEI programs that support the country’s marginalized citizens.
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