Ne-Yo doubles down as he attempted to clear up his past comments that George Floyd’s death was a sacrifice.
Ne-Yo was recently booted into “Club CANCELLED” after comments he made during George Floyd’s funeral came across as callous and incorrect. As a specially invited guest and performer, the “Closer” crooner delivered what he thought were truly moving words to the grieving congregation at the time: “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 can be alright later on,” he said at the funeral. “I appreciate the sacrifice, my brother, I genuinely do.”
Since then, he’s faced a stream of backlash from folks pointing out that such a heinous and obvious murder could never rightly deemed a sacrifice. Recently though, Ne-Yo got the chance to add some clarity as a guest on ‘The Morning Hustle’ in an interview surrounding the latest happenings and projects.
Stopping by the show, Ne-Yo stated that at first he was going to ignore the comments but was actually encouraged by his manager to clarify his statements on the program. The “Mad” singer maintains he had “no negative intentions” when he made the “sacrifice comment,” so he tried to make the connections for those confused. “We can not let ignorance divide us right now,” Ne-Yo said. “I’m singing at this man’s funeral you cannot believe that I meant anything negative towards him towards his family you can’t believe that as I’m standing on stage singing at this man’s funeral, looking at his daughter in the face, you cannot believe that I meant something negative, you can’t.”
Ne-Yo also added that he made every attempt to be as low key as possible at the funeral, recognizing that the day should be dedicated to Floyd and the incredible legacy he leaves behind. Standing behind his initial controversial comments, however, Ne-Yo reiterated that there was indeed a sacrifice—even if it was an unwilling one like Jesus giving his life on the cross.
Hopefully, that clears the air for George’s family members as well as Ne-Yo’s fans. He insists that Floyd’s “martyrdom was the spark” for all we’re seeing and are set to achieve from this momentum—but basically, he said what he said. The singer/songwriter also spoke on being able to rekindle with wife Crystal Smith during quarantine as well as his new single “U 2 Luv” feat. Jeremih, which is out now, with a new album in the works and on the way.
