“Bernice King Reacts to Sexyy Red’s Apology for AI-Generated Martin Luther King Jr. Photo (UPDATE)”

Sexyy Red Apologizes to Bernice King After Backlash Over MLK Day AI Image

Sexyy Red stirred controversy when she posted an AI-generated image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on January 20, to celebrate MLK Day. The image showed Dr. King holding hands with the rapper in an intimate pose, which many found disrespectful to his legacy. The backlash was swift, with Bernice King, Dr. King’s daughter, publicly calling out the rapper on X (formerly Twitter) for using the image in a manner she deemed “dishonoring” and “deplorable.”

The Controversy

In her tweet, Bernice King wrote, “This is intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful to my family and my father… Please delete.” She emphasized that her father sacrificed his life for civil and human rights, and for ending war and poverty, and felt the image trivialized his work.

Sexyy Red had shared another AI-generated photo alongside the first, which depicted her standing near Dr. King at a fake protest. The rapper, however, swiftly removed both posts from her account.

Clarification from Bernice King

After her initial tweet, Bernice clarified that her comments weren’t a personal attack on Sexyy Red but a response to the misuse of her father’s image. She acknowledged that Dr. King’s image had often been misused in the past and expressed her frustration at the lack of respect for his sacrifice and tragic death. Bernice also made it clear she did not view the rapper as a “degenerate” but was simply concerned about the portrayal of her father’s image.

Sexyy Red Apologizes

Sexyy Red responded a day later, quote-tweeting Bernice King’s original post with a heartfelt apology: “You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just resposted something I saw that I thought was innocent.”

Bernice King’s Response

In return, Bernice King accepted the apology, thanking Sexyy Red for it and explaining her stance further. She expressed that her concern was not about denigrating the rapper but about the broader misuse of her father’s image, particularly when disconnected from his legacy.

Bernice also elaborated on her hurt, sharing the emotional toll it takes on her to see her father’s image misused for purposes unrelated to the justice he fought for, highlighting how his image had been repurposed for things like party flyers and unjust legislation.

Aftermath

Though Sexyy Red has not commented on Bernice’s second response, she has since returned to social media, responding to a special request from Bruno Mars, showing that she’s moving forward after the incident.

The controversy sparked wider conversations about the respect for civil rights leaders’ legacies and the ways their images are used in popular culture.

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