Houston, TX – The third and final memorial for George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man killed at the hands of Minnesota police on May 25, was held at the Fountain of Praise church in Houston on Tuesday (June 9). Ne-Yo, who attended the service and performed a song, is now facing criticism after referring to Floyd as a “sacrifice.”
“50 states are protesting at the same time, this man changed the world,” he said. “I just want to thank George Floyd for the sacrifice so my kids can be alright. I appreciate the sacrifice, I really do.”
Following his speech, Ne-Yo got visibly emotional when he sang Boyz II Men’s 1991 hit “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” in honor of the 46-year-old Floyd.
Even so, Twitter immediately pounced on Ne-Yo for his seemingly insensitive remarks. Many people couldn’t believe he would say such a thing, while others just implored celebrities to keep their mouths shut.
Check out the reactions below.
So in today’s Who’s next series: black celebrity edition so far we have Desi, B. Simone, Shekinah, Santana, Doja Cat, Smooth Gio,Shameik moore, Lil Wayne, Trina, Ti,mayor kesha Tokyo Jet, Terry Crews & now Neyo pic.twitter.com/2ZHsg7luJI
— queenie (@promqueen005) June 9, 2020