Twitter Drags Shaun King After Announcement He Would Be Honored At Rihanna’s ‘Diamond Ball’
Rihanna’s 2019 Diamond Ball will honor Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and writer and civil rights activist Shaun King, and some people aren’t too pleased with King being celebrated.
“I can’t imagine a better night than this year’s Clara Lionel Foundation event with Seth Meyers, Pharrell and DJ Khaled,” said Rihanna per Variety.
“I am particularly honored to present Prime Minister Mottley and Shaun King with this year’s Diamond Ball Awards for their groundbreaking work. We are so thankful to them for joining us and making the night better than ever.”
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 04: Rihanna attends the “China: Through The Looking Glass” Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts on why they felt King didn’t deserve to be honored and some even criticized Rihanna.
https://twitter.com/IWriteAllDay_/status/1164573847263182848
Shaun King is getting celebrated for what exactly?
— Solidarity with Palestine #StopCopCity (@jaybeware) August 22, 2019
Social justice ponzi schemes?
Movement energy vacuum?
Threatening Black women activists with lawsuits?
Accumulating social capital into celebrity?
https://twitter.com/RantzFanon/status/1164768641016950784
It’s sad bc I used to follow dude work and thought he was really for black/brown people. He may have done some good but there’s a lot of bullshit unaccounted for! #ShaunKing
— Daddy’s Little Kitten (@iamenough84) August 22, 2019
Rachel Donzel when she saw #ShaunKing is being honored by Rihanna at the Diamond ball pic.twitter.com/pvyr9yaL2J
— 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓁 (@chvntelv) August 22, 2019
Why are we honoring Shaun King? What the fuck has he done for any community?
— Drop It Low for Paimon (@wondermann5) August 22, 2019
Rihanna is honoring shaun king at her diamond ball. pic.twitter.com/0mdHQwks8w
— Bej’a (@Be_j_a) August 21, 2019
Shaun King, thrilled to see his name trending, then realizing it’s for being white and a con artist. pic.twitter.com/9b01ZaoJfA
— AL (@MissSchliez) August 22, 2019
Why does Shaun King keep getting attention? He is a scam artist and a parasite. pic.twitter.com/SxU5fJ0nqz
— Bebop (@Fresh_I_) August 22, 2019
Rihanna when she realizes Shaun King is caucasian pic.twitter.com/j8p5JQecsX
— AL (@MissSchliez) August 22, 2019
#ShaunKing is one of the biggest USERS of the black community of ALL time. OH AND HE’S A WHITE MAN PRETENDING TO BE BLACK TO SCAM $$$ and FAME OFF POC. Will anyone say it? I will! He’s a RACIST.
— Alex Clark (@yoalexrapz) August 22, 2019
Oh and PS: This will be Rihanna when the clock strikes midnight at the ball pic.twitter.com/2Z0MLbk8F3
I just wanna say that whoever came up with 'Talcum X' to troll Shaun King deserves the Nobel Prize for Literature......#ShaunKing
— Brian Gormley (@BeanogormsBrian) August 22, 2019
One writer, David Dennis Jr., even went as far as to write an open letter via News One on why Rihanna should reconsider honoring Shaun King at her Diamond Ball.
“The ‘this’ in question is the announcement that the Diamond Ball would be honoring Shaun King with its Diamond Ball award. Rihanna. I don’t know if this is a personal choice by you or something someone on your staff picked but it’s straight-up disheartening,” Dennis Jr. wrote.
“Shaun King is a scam artist of the highest degree and the fact that he’s finagled his way to your presence and may even be in the same photo as you very soon is a testament to that legendary gift of grift. But please understand this: Shaun King is a net negative to the Black community and especially Black women, for whom you’ve worked so hard to advocate.”
In his open letter, Dennis Jr. also claimed that King has “jumped from failed project to aborted initiative leaving a trail of Black women who have claimed that he has stolen ideas and at-best mismanaged affairs from top to bottom.”
