Rapper Boosie Badazz walks out of The Color Purple over lesbian romance plot

Anti-LGBTQ+ rapper Boosie BadAzz went on a social media rant over The Color Purple for having a lesbian romance, claiming he left a screening with his children as it was inappropriate. 

The 41-year-old rapper posted on X/Twitter to blast Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg’s latest musical adaptation of the stage version of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1982 novel. 

Winfrey and Spielberg’s latest edition of the story features a raft of famous faces, including Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Halle Bailey in the film’s leading roles.

A bonafide cultural touchstone in American literature, The Color Purple follows the story of Celie (Barrino), an African-American woman living in rural Georgia in the 20th century, and her brutal experiences of domestic and sexual abuse, racism and sexism alongside themes of companionship, resilience and bravery.

In the book, Celie engages in a same-sex romance with Shug Avery (Henson) – an erotic relationship which was infamously erased by Speilberg in his 1985 film and reduced to a single kiss.

Writing in all capital letters on X/Twitter, Badazz said: “I had to walk out of this color purple movie (n two other older couples walked out also.) 🍿Because I had my little girls with me n it seemed like a 🌈 love story!! Good acting but whoever wrote the script is pushing the narrative hard !! As a parent I will not let my little girl watch this film✅.”

Badazz was blasted by social media users for his comments about the film, with many calling out lyrics he has previously used in songs sexualising sapphic women and the fact that his own daughter – 21-year-old Poison Ivi – is gay.  

“U clearly never seen the first one either, AND u got a gay daughter. This tweet all over the place,” one person said, whilst another responded: “To Boosie, the domestic abuse, underage marriage, and assault and r*** are fine but it’s the women kissing that got him to walk out ✅All which happened before they kissed.” 

“Walked out over a love story that’s in Alice Walker’s original work, but not the abhorrent abuse that precedes it,” a third X/Twitter user wrote. 

“Says it all, really.

In response to the backlash, Badazz followed up with a second post, stating – again in all-caps – that “we have a right as parents to say its not cool for a 7 n 9 year old to wtach this. We have rights to parents to protect our children as much as we can.”

He continued: “ I have no problem at all with 🌈  people. My grandad was a preacher (Southern Baptist) n I’m just tryna raise my kids with the same beliefs n respect we was raised with it’s just this will have u n a fight to do so!!”

Despite claiming to have “no problem at all” with LGBTQ+ people, Badazz’s previous actions do not backup his claims. 

In the past he has made transphobic rants attacking Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya Wade and in 2021 Badazz made deeply homophobic remarks about Lil Nas X, calling for the ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ singer to commit suicide. 

After Nas joked he had a song coming out with Badazz, the rapper hit back with violent tweets. 

“U a whole b****h playing with a gansta smh u can keep sucking d**k n getting f***** in your a**,” Badazz wrote. 

“N #UHateYourself I would too if I was yourself.”

Adding: “NASx if you #CommitSuicide you would do this world a huge favor,” including a raised hands emoji.

The contentious rapper also courted controversy for bragging that he hired women to perform sex acts for his teenage sons and nephews, aged 12 and 13 and well-below the legal age of consent. 

Badazz alleged he was “training these boys right”, saying during an Instagram Live video: “When they was 12, 13, they got head. Yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Hell yeah, I got my f**king son’s d**k sucked.”