Greys Anatomy star Jesse Williams has issued an apology after fans hit back at a meme he used to promote a film about Emmett Tills mother.
The 37-year-old used a photo of Mamie Till Mobley crying next to her sons coffin, after he was killed aged just 14.
Over the image Jesse used the phrase: Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.
His followers were quick to kick off at the actor, and accused him of turning the meme into a parody of Colin Kaepernicks Nike advert.
One wrote: Jesse Williams posted that photo of Mamie Till with the Kaepernick quote like she made a choice to sacrifice her son to uh… murder. Lets think about things before we slap a meme over it.
Another added: a nike meme of emmett tills mother to promote a movie????? i hate jesse williams. wow. (sic)
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Someone else commented: A Black mothers pain at the horrific murder of her son should not be counted as “sacrifice” and even her decision for an open casket is not properly framed as “sacrifice” or something to believe in…
Please reconsider. This was not fully thought out, sir.
The star has now issued an apology for his actions, and claimed that he never intended to make light of the tragedy.
He said: I would absolutely never make light of the tremendous tragedy that foisted Mamie Till Mobley into her life of activism and could never pretend her child being brutally tortured and executed was her “sacrifice”. That doesnt even kinda make sense, never mind being absurd and ahistorical.
The images were designed it to highlight the tremendous sacrifices that Mamie made by sharing her unrelenting journey for justice – including boldly sharing those iconic images from her sons funeral, which changed the world.
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He continued: I adopted an iconic contemporary visual framework to connect past to present And contextualize our language around loss, leadership and sacrifice. My intent aside, I take responsibility for how they were received.
My heart is always with my people and this includes my artistic commitment to telling our stories. Always have, always will. And while I stand for creative expression, every swing aint gonna be a homerun. (And yall know I swing a lot.) Those who are sincere in this work and concern, I thank you.
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Metro.co.uk have reached out to Jesses reps for further comment.
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