Claressa Shields has stepped in to defend R&B singer Kelly Price after the Grammy-nominated artist ignited backlash over harsh remarks aimed at Black women.
Price went viral earlier this week when she took to Instagram Live to vent about the criticism she’s faced online, according to Madame Noire.
“Black women, you are some of the most nasty, disrespectful people on God’s planet Earth,” Price declared, calling out commenters who mocked her size, her looks, and her performance outfits.
She argued that many of her critics “live behind a keyboard” and warned that education or activism doesn’t excuse tearing down others. “Find yourself, because a degree does not give you class,” she said.
The reaction was swift, with many social media users accusing Price of unfairly generalizing and turning on the very community that once supported her career.
Shields—boxing’s undisputed middleweight champion—went live on YouTube on September 4 to say she believed Price had a point.
“I love Kelly Price’s music, and today when she spoke, she spoke about how it’s mainly Black women who are saying some of the meanest and nastiest things to her,” Shields said. “It pissed me off because she ain’t lying. That’s the part about it—she ain’t lying."
Shields related Price’s experience to her own, recalling the times she was attacked online by fans who criticized her body, her relationships, and even her clothing choices.
“The more you comfortable with yourself, the more people try to make you uncomfortable with yourself and come throwing insults,” she said. “Why do y’all pick at folks who don’t want no smoke with y’all?”
The Flint native also said that Price’s critics were focusing on the wrong things. “She sing, bro. Judge her singing. You can’t talk about how she don’t sing good because she got the voice of a damn angel, but you want to talk about her size and her looks and her clothes,” Shields explained.
She added that those who targeted Price online should take accountability: “Anybody who had the nerve to go on there talking [stuff] to Kelly Price about how she look and her clothes and her shoes…you need to go apologize. I’m so sick of y’all.”
Shields ended her livestream by urging people to stop attacking women in the industry and to “leave Kelly Price alone,” emphasizing that the criticism over appearance has no bearing on talent or career achievements.