The actress Michelle Williams gave a speech at Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, where she talked about equal pay for women, especially women of color.
But the singer Michelle Williams received backlash from those who disagreed with the speech, and the former Destiny’s Child member said she’s tired of being confused with the actress.
“And so the next time a woman and especially a woman of color —because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to their white male counterpart — tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her,” said Williams after she won the award for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for the mini-series “Fosse/Verdon.”
Then on Tuesday, Michelle Williams, the R&B star, issued a message after she was tired of responding to people who thought she was the actress. And she said there’s one easy way to tell the difference between herself and the Emmy winner.
“Let’s get one thing clear. How come when y’all are tagging and congratulating a person … Do y’all see that I’m black when you go to my profile or tag, like when you search for the Michelle Williams?” asked the singer on her Live feed. “I am black. Okay? I ain’t mixed with nothing. I ain’t mixed with Persian, Russian. I am black”
“I thought [the speech] was her truth,” she added. “I thought it was awesome. I thought she was factual. I could be wrong. But yo, I just told this woman a few minutes ago on my Instagram, I was like, ‘I’m so sorry that my namesake upset you. But can’t you see that I’m black?’”
Williams then continued to say she loved the former “Dawson’s Creek” star’s speech, as well as her role as the late actress and dancer Gwen Verdon.
“I stand beside Michelle WIlliams on her speech,” said the singer. “She was beautiful. She was brilliant. Honey, she played Gwen Verdon to a T. She was awesome. Get it right and stop cussing me out. All right? Now I’mma slap you back into having a good day, ‘cause you almost tried to take me out of my peace.”
