Rapper Boosie Badazz fumed over the recent film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Color Purple over its LGBTQ+ themes and stormed out of the theater.
The Color Purple movie musical features American Idol alum Fantasia Barrino, who made her Broadway debut as Celie in the production in 2007 and is reprising the role in the 2022 movie.
The show was based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker's 1982 epistolary novel of the same name that inspired Steven Spielberg's 1985 movie adaptation.
All three iterations of the powerful story center on the struggles particularly facing southern black women in the early 1900s, including domestic abuse and racial discrimination.
At the film's heart lies the sisterly love between separated siblings Celie and Nettie, as well as a lesbian romance between Celie and eccentric jazz and blues singer Shug Avery that leads to her self-realization and embracing self-love.
Badazz, who has eight children with six women, was not familiar with the novel and said he was offended by the film's LGBTQ+ storyline so much that he walked out of the movie with his daughters.
He lamented onX (formerly Twitter):
"I HAD TO WALK OUT THIS COLOR PURPLE MOVIE ( N TWO OTHER OLDER COUPLES WALKED OUT ALSO.) BECAUSE I HAD MY LITTLE GIRLS WITH ME N IT SEEMED LIKE A LOVE STORY."
He continued to express his grievance over the lesbian romance, which was adapted from Walker's novel.
"GOOD ACTING BUT WHOEVER WROTE THE SCRIPT IS PUSHING THE NARRATIVE HARD AS A PARENT I WILL NOT LET MY LITTLE GIRL WATCH THIS FILM."
I HAD TO WALK OUT THIS COLOR PURPLE MOVIE ( N TWO OTHER OLDER COUPLES WALKED OUT ALSO.) \xf0\x9f\x8d\xbfBECAUSE I HAD MY LITTLE GIRLS WITH ME N IT SEEMED LIKE A \xf0\x9f\x8c\x88 LOVE STORY\xe2\x80\xbc\xef\xb8\x8fGOOD ACTING BUT WHOEVER WROTE THE SCRIPT IS PUSHING THE NARRATIVE HARD \xe2\x80\xbc\xef\xb8\x8fAS A PARENT I WILL NOT LET MY LITTLE GIRL\xe2\x80\xa6— (@)
It didn't take long for social media users to slam Badazz for his homophobic remark and for not doing his homework.
@BOOSIEOFFICIAL So yall more upset that Mrs Celie and Shug Avery was exploring their sexuality but didn\xe2\x80\x99t draw the line at her being molested at 14 by her stepfather and having his kids?\n\nThis really shows me why yall still let that \xe2\x80\x9cFresh\xe2\x80\x9d uncle come to the family reunion but throw your Gay\xe2\x80\xa6— (@)
@BOOSIEOFFICIAL The fact that people didn\xe2\x80\x99t understand this concept in the first movie is wild. What did you think the kiss on the lips meant? The actual book it\xe2\x80\x99s based on is explicit in them having sex. Out of all the incest and rape in the book, movie & play; atleast they demonstrate consent.— (@)
This wasn't the first time Boosie Badazz came under fire for his homophobia.
He publicly condemned out rapper Lil Nas X in 2021 with an anti-gay tweet, suggesting Nas should take his life because, "Nobody wants you here."
In 2020, Badazz made transphobic remarks aimed at former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade for supporting his 12-year-old transgender daughter.