Bernice King Shows Grace To Sexyy Red In Online Exchange Over AI Photo

Source: Nykieria Chaney / Getty

In case you missed it last week, Dr. Bernice King had a request for St. Louis-based rapper Sexxy Red. Born Janae Nierah Wherry. On Martin Luther King Day, Wherry posted two AI-created photos of Dr. King -one face-to-face in a club, the other showing her marching alongside civil rights leaders.

King, the youngest of MLK’s four children, asked Red to take the photos down.

“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,” King, 61, wrote on X. “Please delete.”

To her credit, Wherry responded, agreeing with King.

“You ain’t wrong,” she said. “Never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just resposted something I saw that I thought was innocent.”

Here’s where things got interesting. Many people on X sided with Wherry, saying that King had no reason to check her.

“You should have reached out to her privately instead of embarrassing her. I don’t grasp your emotions in this situation, but since you’re connected to Dr. King, I assume there’s a deeper feeling involved. As a leader, you should model how to handle these issues calmly instead of reacting out of anger,” a user named J Cain posted on X.

A poster named Midas opined, “He ain’t did sh-t for me, civil and human rights are irrelevant unless there’s a bystander with a camera around, war is still going on and we’re still in poverty, he basically died for nothing cause we’re modern day slaves that got y’all thinking sh-t sweet.”

Another, Mr Olympian, said, “Is it really that serious? M just asking cuz the picture ain’t that bad.”

Well, it is that serious if only because King’s name and likeness is owned by the family who can use how and where its used. But along with people thinking King should let up, along with many who supported her, others took the chance to slam Sexyy Red.

Her music, including songs like “Pound Town,” “Get It Sexy” and “Rich Baby Daddy,” with Drake and SZA, has generated criticism from many in the Black community who feel like her music and image exacerbate existing stereotypes about Black women.

“sexy redd is a ghetto embarrassment and a shame to the black community,” Poppy, a writer a Buzzfeed posted.

But King wouldn’t be drawn into the debate.

“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,” she responded to Wherry’s post. “I hope you understand my concerns about the image.I know that 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).

For those who used the moment to insult Wherry, King added, “Please don’t project your thoughts onto me. I don’t believe Sexyy Red to be a “degenerate,” “ghetto,” or “trash.” I have spoken out in the past about the use of and comparison to either of my parents to denigrate other people.”

It’s a win for both women who rose above the negative chatter to show respect for each other. But for those who took the opportunity to insult King’s’ father, the upcoming release of the King FBI files will only be fuel for them and those who seek to diminish King’s legacy.

But no matter how hard you try, rewriting history is challenging when the events have already happened. However, as the Republicans note, history is remembered by those who tell it. That is why they are invested in making sure our history is not told correctly, otherwise people wouldn’t have the ability to fix their faces or move their X fingers to disrespect the struggle for Black equality that King gave his life for.