Angela Simmons is doing her best to get out of hot water following her controversial accessory at the 2024 BET Awards.
Source: Gilbert Flores / Getty
After the former reality star hit the BET Awards red carpet on Sunday night, fans flooded social media with commentary about her fashion choice. To go with her sparkly green dress, Simmons was carrying a matching, bedazzled purse in the shape of a handgun. Not only that, she did several poses during her photo op to match its shape, holding it up and pointing the bag toward cameras as if it were an actual weapon.
She responded to the backlash fairly quickly, posting a video to her Instagram Story to address her fashion choice. At the time, Angela acknowledged that she has a personal history with with gun violence–her ex-fiancé and the father of her 6-year-old child, Sutton Tennyson, was fatally shot in 2018–going on to insist that she’s not a “violent” person and simply thought that her handbag looked “cool.”
Now, she’s apologizing for the accessory once again, writing a lengthy statement on Instagram admitting that she regrets her decision to carry that bag at the BET Awards.
“When I chose the purse, I believed it was cute and unique, and I made a poor decision in using it as an accessory to amplify my beauty,” she began in her post. “I deeply regret that this item, which symbolizes a gun, was inappropriate and insensitive, especially given my personal and community experiences with gun violence.”
Simmons continued, “I have personally lost my partner, the father of my child, to gun violence, and I have witnessed its devastating impact on my community in Southeast Queens…I ask for your understanding and forgiveness, and I hope you can accept my sincere apology. While this incident was a misstep, I will not allow it to define my moral compass or my commitment to promoting peace and ending gun violence.”
Not long after Simmons’ second apology, her boyfriend, Yo Gotti, reacted to all of the chatter surrounding his girl.
The rapper definitely didn’t take the situation as seriously as Angela, posting a black screen to his Instagram Story and writing, “She just practicing…LOL,” along with hearts, a laughing face, and a pistol emoji.
