Even if she’s choosing to privately mourn a recent death in her family, Tamar Braxton will still make time to gather her critics.
The Grammy Award-nominated songstress and reality TV personality pushed back against critics who took issue with how she’s choosing to mourn her 24-year-old niece Lauren Braxton, who died of a heart condition on April 29.
Tamar said she was too “drained” to attend her niece’s funeral. Lauren is the daughter of Tamar’s older brother, Michael.
Tamar broke her silence in an Instagram Live video recently, wearing a cowboy hat and big sunglasses, stating: “I’ve been MIA because I just cannot bring myself to post about my niece. Like, I just can’t do it.”
“But what I did want to say is I want to thank everyone for sending their condolences,” she added.
Tamar, who’s currently starring in Kandi Burruss’ Welcome To The Dungeon Tour, which kicked off Friday, intimated that she wasn’t sure how she would be able to pay her respects to her niece or even attend her funeral.
“I don’t want my sisters or my family to get upset with me but like, the things that’s been going on, this is like the first time anybody in my family has passed,” Tamar revealed.
“Let me tell y’all something, if you ain’t never experienced it, praise God. Get on your knees and praise Him. Find you a corner because nobody tell[s] you about going to the damn funeral,” she continued. “I don’t have time [to go] to the funeral. I’m still drained from that. It’s a lot. Nevertheless, everything happens in God’s divine order and we’ve just got to respect it and praise Him anyway.”
And with that, social media let loose with some fans demanding that she get her “a-s up and go to the funeral” and others calling her “self-centered.”
In true clapback form, the “Love & War” singer posted a note on Instagram Friday, sharing why people shouldn’t attempt to tell other people how to grieve: “PSA: Please don’t tell people how to Heal from something You’ve Never Been Through.”