Lil Yachty faced public backlash earlier this week over a controversial lyric referencing George Floyd. Specifically, Floyd’s friend Stephen Jackson called out the rapper for what he described as disrespect toward the late George Floyd, whose death sparked global protests in 2020.
“I won’t be doing no interviews about it,” he said in an Instagram video. “I spoke to him. He’s a smart young man. He’s winning for a reason. He’s a super smart individual. He made a mistake. He apologized. It’s over … he made a mistake. Let it go.”
Stephen Jackson says it’s squashed 🤝 After calling out Lil Yachty for mentioning his late friend George Floyd in a new song, Stak5 revealed they spoke privately and Yachty apologized. “No interviews, it’s handled.” ✊🏾💬 pic.twitter.com/Su6VEzoHi3
— Traps N Trunks (@trapsntrunks) August 15, 2025
The line in question goes, “Put my knee up on her neck, I went George Floyd,” a line that almost immediately set social media ablaze with criticism.
Many called it tasteless and flat-out disrespectful, given the tragedy of Floyd’s death in 2020. One person who wasn’t about to let it slide was former NBA player and podcaster Stephen Jackson, a childhood friend of George Floyd.
Jackson tore into Yachty online, saying, “Lil Yachty, bro. You been wack, my n####. But you think you saying George Floyd name, and trying to use his name in a bar, that’s gonna make people like your wack-ass music, my n####? That s### weak.”
He went on to call out what he sees as a broader trend in rap: “Y’all the only era that feel like demeaning the dead and saying that s### is cool. It ain’t.”
Jackson then warned Yachty to never speak Floyd’s name again, stressing that none of these rappers actually knew him.
“Y’all wanna say his name for clout,” he added. “That’s some weak-ass s###, Yachty. Let somebody die in your family, we gonna do a whole skit about it. And see how funny it is. Cut that s### out.”
George Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. The incident, captured on video, led to widespread protests and calls for police reform across the United States and around the world. Chauvin was later convicted of murder and sentenced to over 22 years in prison.
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