Jesse Williams Responds To Backlash For Using Colin Kaepernick Nike Meme To Promote Emmett Till Film
UPDATE: Jesse Williams has issued a statement on his Twitter posts that used Colin Kaepernick's Nike ad to promote his Till movie.
"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,'" Williams wrote. "The images were designed to highlight the tremendous sacrifices Mamie made by sharing her unrelenting journey for justice..."
Read the entire response below.
Aside from being tasteless the meme has already come and gone.
Jesse Williams took to Twitter Monday afternoon to promote Till, his directorial debut. However, how he promoted the forthcoming film has resulted in backlash online.
READ: Emmett Till Accuser Finally Admits She Lied About Her Claims
The post used images of Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till's mother, accompanied by the Colin Kaepernick caption that was featured on his Nike ads (which then became a meme): "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." One image showed Till-Mobley in tears while another showed her crying over Till's casket.
Transforming one of America's most gruesome moments against black people into a meme is tone deaf and, paired with Kaepernick's declaration, distorts the reality of the incident. Till-Mobley didn't voluntarily sacrifice her son — he was taken from her. She never saw justice for her son's death and died in 2003. Till's case is just now being reopened 63 years after his death by the Department of Justice.
Numerous people have criticized Williams' post, which he has since deleted.
"Jesse Williams turned pictures of Emmett Till's mom into a Nike meme...to promote the movie he's directing. I can't lie this makes me question how he's going to do with the movie," one user 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. Let's think about things before we slap a meme over it," another wrote.