50 Cent Faces Backlash for Insensitive Comments Made After Death of Actor Michael K. Williams
UPDATE (Sept. 7):
50 Cent uploaded another Instagram post today after being criticized for the comments he shared online following Michael K. Williams' recent death.
Fif's post on Sept. 7 featured a screenshot of an article, which accused him of using the actor's death to promote his TV show, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, via an IG post.
"Hey if you didn’t get a chance to see Raising Kanan check it out," 50 wrote as the caption. "Fentanyl is a hell of a drug."
ORIGINAL STORY:
50 Cent is facing major backlash following insensitive comments he made regarding the recent tragic passing of veteran actor Michael K. Williams while Fif was seemingly promoting his Starz TV series, Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
On Monday (Sept. 6), 50 shared an Instagram post shortly after news broke of Williams' untimely death, which reports claim may have been caused by a suspected drug overdose. In one now-deleted upload, Fif uploaded an image of an article from New York Post about the death of the actor, who was most commonly known for his role as Omar in the 2000's HBO drama The Wire.
"Damn if you didn't see Raising Kanan check it out that fentanyl is no joke, killing the clientele. R.I.P michael k williams," 50 Cent wrote in the IG caption.
In a second post, 50 uploaded a screenshot of a 2018 Page Six article, which addressed an apparent feud the rapper had with Williams in connection to the 54-year-old actor defending former music executive James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, who is currently behind bars and was found guilty at the time for hiring a hitman to kill one of Fif's associates. Michael K. Williams had apparently defended Henchman, igniting the beef several years ago.
"Don't ever try to understand me I'm different," the rhymer-turned-TV executive typed as the caption for the since-removed IG post. "I don't do all the fake love shit."
A separate social media post, directed at Henchman, which was also deleted, said, "New Caption alert hey jimmy ya man OD'ed," followed by a laughing emoji.
People on the internet immediately condemned 50 Cent and the crass remarks he made about the seasoned actor.
"50 Cent is a piece of garbage," one person tweeted. "He is a horrible and nasty human being. His post about Michael K. Williams was so offensive and gross."
Another said, "50 Cent is honestly disgusting and disrespectful as hell for this post smh. So lame for this…..Sending my condolences to the family of Michael K. Williams Folded hands🕊."
There were others who seemed to have a level of understanding surrounding 50 Cent's insensitive IG posts.
A third person said, "Don't be surprised by the 50 Cent reaction to Michael K Williams death. They had real problems with each other and although most of us will call his post classless, none of us were involved in the beef between them. Just providing context as you're wondering why he trending."
According to a report from the Associated Press yesterday, Michael K. Williams was found dead in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment by family members. The NYPD told the outlet that his death is being investigated as a possible drug overdose, however, the medical examiner will determine the actual cause of Williams' passing.
Michael K. Williams appeared on The Wire for the series' entire five seasons, from 2002 to 2008. He was also on HBO's Boardwalk Empire and starred in films such as 12 Years a Slave, Assassin's Cred and most recently, HBO's Lovecraft Country.
See more reactions from people on social media sounding off about 50 Cent's inconsiderate Instagram post about the death of Michael K. Williams below.