Earlier this morning, we reported on the tragic and senseless death of rapper Takeoff from Migos. Takeoff, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, was killed in an early morning shooting in Houston.
Gossip site TMZ reported on the story. They noted that law enforcement sources, and multiple witnesses, said that the fatal incident occurred shortly after 2:30 AM when police got the call for a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston. According to their reports, Takeoff and Migos’ Quavo were there playing dice when an altercation broke out and that’s when someone opened fire, shooting Takeoff. They reported that he was shot “either in the head or near to his head.” They said that he was pronounced dead on the scene. Takeoff was 28 years old.
TMZ also posted photos that were slightly blurred but which showed Takeoff lying on the ground. Many were upset that TMZ and others shared horrifying footage. The writer Kimberly St. Julian-Vernon tweeted, “I think it’s disgusting that TMZ monetizes the deaths of Black men: Kobe’s accident, now Takeoff’s murder.” Civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill said, “No human being or their family deserves to have published the kind of crime scene photos I glimpsed. A disgrace TMZ.” Writer Rotimi Adeoye expressed, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. TMZ is disgusting. Posting death photos is beyond cruel. They did the same exact thing when Kobe died.”
Rapper Cadence Weapon tweeted, “TMZ posted Takeoff’s dead body when reporting his murder. Would they do the same for a white country artist? Or would they be more respectful? Where does the impulse to film and post a lifeless dead Black body come from? Maybe this is why Black death has become so normalized.” A twitter account called NBA Slime said, “TMZ y’all gotta stop showing “EXCLUSIVE” footage of people’s last moments Please man! Getting the scoop is enough, you guys don’t need to show that stuff anymore! It’s getting sick! You know what you’re doing and you know it’s wrong! Stop doing it!!!” See more reactions below.
