In the days since the tragedy, countless celebs — Russell Simmons, Monica, Toni Braxton, and Justin Bieber among them — have sent prayers and condolences to Tameka and her family, including Kile’s former stepfather Usher, who rushed to the hospital to be by Tameka’s side despite their ongoing custody battle. There’s been significant media interest in the story, but I can’t help but notice that it’s gotten a less-than-sympathetic reaction from readers.
Sure, there have been tweets and story comments wishing the best for Tameka during this time. But they don’t seem to compare to the outpouring of sympathy that, say, Rihanna received when her grandmother Dolly passed on June 30. Twitter was flooded with condolences calling Rihanna a “poor thing” and noting how “it must be so hard for her.” For Tameka, too many people seem to have gone mute — or worse, they’ve deemed her family tragedy some sort of “karma” for however they think she did Usher and/or her ex-husband.
I don’t get it. I know she’s not Black America’s favorite person; she’s about as likable as Robin Givens circa her divorce from Mike Tyson. Tameka’s marriage to Usher never really went over that well with his fans. Despite him being a grown-behind man capable of making his own choices, she was made out to be an evil cougar-woman taking advantage of him. Let Tameka tell it, the hate was because she’s a brown skinned lady. But the more popular reasons were rumors that she seduced Usher and broke up her own marriage to be with him. Oh, and she disrupted the relationship between Usher and his mother, perhaps the worst offense. When their marriage dissolved — with so many rushing to say “I told you so!” — the nasty, public divorce and custody battle only made her more loathed. But none of this should have anything to do with whether Tameka should be offered sympathy under the current circumstances.
Tameka may be a lady folks don’t particularly like, for whatever reasons, but she’s also a grieving mother. Scapegoating her again as her child is battling to live, then having the audacity to send that blame to her Twitter account, is just plain dead-wrong-evil.
Even if you aren’t a mom, certainly you can understand what a catastrophic hell she’s going through. Does it really matter right now even if she had done everything she’s been accused of? It should not. But if it does to you? Excuse me, ma’am, your ignorance is showing. I hate to see what karma has in store for you.
Demetria L. Lucas is the author of A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life (Atria) in stores now. Follow her on Twitter @abelleinbk