Erykah Badu is used to being “misunderstood.”
The singer, who’s currently promoting her upcoming film What Men Want in theaters February 8, came under fire last week after she told a Chicago audience that she’d be “praying” for R. Kelly.
Patrick Melon
“I dunno how everybody else feel about it, but I’m putting up a prayer right now for R,” she said, according to video footage.
“I hope he sees the light of day if he[‘s] done all those things that we’ve seen on TV and heard those ladies talk about. I hope he sees the light of day and comes forward,” Badu added with the crowd noticeably booing her. “What y’all say, f-ck him? That’s not love. That’s not unconditional love.”
Badu clarified her comments Saturday, explaining to ESSENCE that “anything that I express is always a message of unconditional love. I would never ask anyone to feel the way I feel or see the way I see, but I also think I have the right to express the way I feel.”
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The “Phone Down” singer also shared that she learned a lot from the swell of comments on social media, particularly Black Twitter.
“We don’t have a lot of respect for the individual — not on social media. And maybe social media is not the place to discuss certain things. I learned that too,” she admitted. “I’m used to being misunderstood but I don’t mind being…the problem that may lead to the solution at some point.”
Watch Badu break down her full comments in the video above.