Comedian and morning show host Rickey Smiley feels that society likes to down
play black boys masculinity. He was outraged that a high school black teen from Texas was suspended from his own high school graduation for refusing to cut off his dreadlocks.
He states that society likes to make criminals out of black boys and men but advocate for them wearing female clothing.
The issue arose when 16-year-old Deandre Arnold from Belvieu, Texas made nationwide news after refusing to cut off his locks for his graduation. The controversy caught the eye of power couple Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union who invited Deandre and his mother, Sandy, on a trip to the 2020 Oscars. The couple also had a short film titled "Hair Love", which was nominated this year, so they had a lot to look forward to.
Smiley took to social media to post the following photo:
Now for those of you who might not know, Smiley got his come up from pretending to be an old lady wearing dresses. A lot of fans and non-fans soon after took to social media to state that he was being a hypocrite. His most famous character he is known for playing is Ms. Bernice Jenkins which he also played in First Sunday. He has performed the Ms. Bernice character on many stages throughout the country and on his Morning show. Smiley soon after deleted the post but not before fans got wind of it.
A follower on Twitter tweeted, "This funny considering we all know you got rich from wearing a dress."
Queer actor Daryl Stephens tweeted, "A "society" of Queer Black folks stood up and made sure the child who couldn't graduate because of ashy ignoramuses is currently trying to vilify queer black folks for existing. Which society are you here to represent?"
This comment from Mr. Smiley is shocking knowing that he has LGBT listeners and also a gay co-host known who segments "Gary With the Tea".