(AllHipHop News) Ne-Yo has defended calling George Floyd’s death a “sacrifice”, after attracting backlash for a controversial comment he made at the 43-year-old’s funeral.
The R&B star was just one of the famous faces at the funeral service inside the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday where he said: “Fifty states are protesting at the same time, this man changed the world. I just want to thank George Floyd for the sacrifice so my kids can be all right. I appreciate the sacrifice, I really do.”
Floyd died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Following the funeral service, Ne-Yo found himself at the center of backlash from his fans, one of whom wrote underneath a video the singer had shared on Twitter of his performance at the funeral, “Murder is not a sacrifice.”
It was an honor to honor him. Change is happening, slowly but surely. George Floyd’s martyrdom was the spark. LONG LIVE GEORGE FLOYD thru is children and the people that loved him. #georgefloyd #restking
— NE-YO (@NeYoCompound) June 10, 2020
But, unwilling to accept that criticism, Ne-Yo hit back: “Yes it is. I never said he was a ‘willing’ sacrifice. But the sacrifice of his life was the spark that was apparently needed to create the energy for change.
“It’s kind of sad that it took this kind of sacrifice to finally open America’s eyes even the little bit we have. But the unfortunate truth is the world has not united like this in the name of justice for black people EVER.”
He added: “I’m going out of my way to explain what I meant because we are all in the same fight and can’t leave anyone behind. I have the utmost respect for George Floyd, his family and the UNWILLING SACRIFICE HE MADE for black people everywhere.”