Jesse Williams Apologizes For Insensitive Mamie Till Meme

When Nike announced it had tapped Colin Kaepernick to be the face of its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign, it rolled out a striking image of the former NFL star with the tagline: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Recently, Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams used Nike’s image as inspiration to announce his upcoming film about Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, the Black teen who was abducted and killed in 1955 for allegedly talking to a White woman.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Before deleting this and uploding a newer image, Jesse Williams used this image to promote his upcoming film, which tells the story of Emmett Till’s mother after his death. It received A LOT of backlash, do you think this image was appropriate or do you agree that he DEFINITELY chose the wrong image?⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #emmetttill #racisminamerica #jessewilliams #newmovie #blexmedia #blex

A post shared by Blex (@blex_media) on Sep 25, 2018 at 2:39am PDT

To promote the film, Williams remixed the Nike advertisement, adding a picture of Till-Mobley standing over the open casket of her son, weeping. While Williams likely thought the image would strike an emotional note with potential moviegoers, many thought using the picture of Till-Mobley was disrespectful.

Just saw a MEME OF MAMIE TILL AT HER SON’S CASKET WITH A FUCKING NIKE SLOGAN ACROSS HER TEAR STAINED FACE. I AM HORRIFIED.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU @iJesseWilliams?!

— Autumn Enchantress🍂 (@jennib3) September 24, 2018

A Black mother's pain at the horrific murder of her son should not be counted as "sacrifice" and even her decision for an open casket is not properly framed as "sacrifice" or something to believe in…

Please reconsider. This was not fully thought out, sir.

— ⚖ (@JagunEsq) September 24, 2018

Jesse Williams posted that photo of Mamie Till with the Kaepernick quote like she made a choice to sacrifice her son to uh… murder.

Let's think about things before we slap a meme over it.

— Happenstance the Rapper (@BeezHunny) September 24, 2018

a nike meme of emmett till's mother to promote a movie????? i hate jesse williams. wow.

— I'M MALCOLM X. (@itssnaz_) September 24, 2018

I know damn well Jesse Williams did not just make Emmett Till into a Nike meme. pic.twitter.com/K9BgrR0xUD

— chy (@SpazzMuffins) September 24, 2018

After facing a mounting backlash, Williams pulled the image from social media and issued an apology. “As much as I’d like to address what my intention were and the meaning of those images, it’s more important that I first acknowledge that I seem to have offended and possibly hurt some of the very people I aim to uplift,” Williams wrote on Instagram. “I would absolutely never make light of the tremendous tragedy that foisted Mamie Till Mobly into her life of activism and could never pretend her child bring brutally tortured and executed was her ‘sacrifice.’” Before closing his statement, Williams reiterated his commitment to activism and centering the stories of Black people. “My heart is always with my people and this includes my artistic commitment to telling our stories,” he said. And while I stand for creative expression, every swing ain’t gonna be a homerun. Those who are sincere in this work and concern.”