Ne-Yo stands by his comments
Ne-Yo is under fire for his controversial comments following the murder of George Floyd.
On Tuesday, the singer performed at a Texas memorial service for the late Floyd and quickly came under fire following his comments thanking the man for his "sacrifice."
Before performing a beautiful cover of "It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," the singer made comments that left a bad taste in some mouths.
"Fifty states are protesting at the same time. This man changed the world — changed the world for the better. So, I just want to personally thank George Floyd for his sacrifice so that my kids will be alright later on," he said.
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He continued to say, "I appreciate the sacrifice, my brother, I genuinely do."
Many took issue with Ne-Yo describing his death as a sacrifice in light of the protests of ending police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement.
He explained on his Instagram later what he meant, and that he should have added that "Floyd's martyrdom was the spark."
"Thanx to the family of George Floyd for allowing me to be a part of celebrating his life and saying our final goodbye. It’s hard to sing thru real tears so please forgive any bad notes," he said.
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"The love this man’s family and community have for him is soul-shaking. 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 [his] children and the people that loved him," he ended the post.
One commenter was angry with that response, saying that "murder is not a sacrifice," to which Ne-Yo replied, "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."
He also added that "It’s sad that it took this kind of sacrifice to open America's eyes."
He continued in the comment, "I’m addressing this comment because ignorance divides and we don’t need that right now. 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."
He ended his statement sharing that he has the utmost respect for George Floyd and his family.
Happy To Be Moving On!
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You can catch him on Netflix these days!
