Akon Faces Backlash Over His Michael K. Williams Comment

Akon has found himself in a world of social media backlash over his Michael K. Williams statements, claiming the rich and famous go through more problems than the poor.

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This weekend, the world lost an iconic actor and true legend, Michael K. Williams. It hasn’t even been a week since his passing, so it goes without saying that people are still trying to digest the loss.

Williams reportedly passed after an overdose inside his New York City apartment at 54-years-old. Many celebrities and fellow actors have taken to social media to share personal stories and show respect to Michael’s legacy, and one person who was asked about the legend’s death was investor and artist Akon.

TMZ caught up with Akon to ask about his passing and Akon was respectful, speaking highly of him, but it’s what else he said that left people upset.

According to Akon, rich people actually “struggle more” than poor people. It’s the age-old saying of “more money, more problems,” but even more out of touch. Not only that, we are in the middle of a pandemic, where some members of the middle and the lower class have lost everything. The comment also comes the same week millions are losing unemployment benefits.

Akon could be right, but 99% of the people who heard his comment will never be in the position to know, so the backlash is warranted. At the end of the day, Akon didn’t mean any harm, but we know how social media works.