Erykah Badu, 50, is issuing a public apology for sharing a now-deleted video from Barack Obama‘s 60th birthday party. The singer was one of the stars invited to the private event, which took place on Martha’s Vineyard last weekend, and took it upon herself to share the controversial clip, which showed the former president dancing without wearing a face mask. She admitted to her actions in an Aug. 12th tweet and asked for forgiveness from Barack and his wife, Michelle Obama.
Mr. And Mrs. Obama , Please forgive me 4 being the “terrible guest “ at such a sacred event for your family. I was so inconsiderate, Thank you for all your love. What an example of ‘how NOT ‘ to be …… erica
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) August 12, 2021
“Mr. And Mrs. Obama , Please forgive me 4 being the ‘terrible guest’ at such a sacred event for your family. I was so inconsiderate, Thank you for all your love. What an example of ‘how NOT ‘ to be …… erica,” she wrote in a tweet, signing off with the real spelling of her first name.
It was met with mixed responses when some followers praised her for her apology and others expressed “disappointment.”
“An event at their PRIVATE residence and for which they specifically asked guests to not release video. Not only was it disrespectful to disregard the request of your HOSTS, it was a massive SECURITY concern,” one follower wrote. “To apologize when you have done something your host asked you not to do is the right and mature thing to do. Good for you Erykah you have integrity. You are woman enough to apologize,” another wrote.
After one follower suggested the Obamas “made” her apologize and take down the video, Erykah set the record straight by replying with, “Naw sis. It’s just right thing.”
Erykah’s apology comes a week after Barack’s birthday bash guest list was scaled back due to COVID-19 concerns. The guests that did attend, however, still included many high-profile people, including John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen, H.E.R., Gabrielle Union and her husband Dwyane Wade. Like Erykah, some of them shared pics and videos of the special event to social media. H.E.R. was one of them and she shared a pic of herself standing in between Barack and Michelle.
The Obamas came under scrutiny when the pics and videos started to go viral due to the lack of face masks on guests in the midst of the recent spread of the Delta variant of COVID, but spokesperson Hannah Hankins told USA Today that the party “was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place.”