Sexyy Red Apologizes to Bernice King Over AI Images of MLK
Sexyy Red sparked a debate this Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a post that didn’t sit well with many. On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., asked the “Pound Town” rapper to remove AI-generated images showing herself and the late civil rights leader.
“This is intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful to my family and my father, who is not here to respond himself because he was assassinated for working for your civil and human rights and to end war and poverty,” Bernice wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Alongside her criticism, she made a direct appeal: “Please delete.”
Bernice, a Spelman College alum, also addressed backlash aimed at Sexyy Red after her comments. “Please don’t project your thoughts onto me. I don’t believe Sexyy Red to be a ‘degenerate,’ ‘ghetto’ or ‘trash,’” she said. “I have spoken out in the past about the use of and comparison to either of my parents to denigrate other people.”
She added concerns over the nature of the AI-altered images. “I just don’t understand this type of use of my father’s image (on MLK Day, no less) in a way that does not convey what we know to be true about his service and sacrifice,” Bernice said. “Even if you disagree with him or with his tactics or even believe things said about him by people who hated him, why do this?”
Sexyy Red took the feedback to heart, responding with an apology. “You ain’t wrong. [I] never meant to disrespect your family. My apologies. [I] just reposted something I saw that I thought was innocent,” she wrote.
Bernice accepted her apology, replying, “Thank you for your apology, which I sincerely accept. Please know that it was not my intention that you be denigrated. I value you as a human being.”
In other news, Sexyy Red is gearing up for her performance at Rolling Loud California on March 15. She will share the stage with artists like BossMan Dlow, Ab-Soul, YG, and headliner ASAP Rocky during the two-day festival.