Celebrations took place across the nation and on social media as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris rose to victory following the 2020 presidential election. The memes projecting what the future would hold as Harris made history by becoming the first woman and Black vice president-elect were nothing short of pure entertainment.
Among those rejoicing was rapper Lil’ Kim, who appeared to move on from Harris’s past criticisms, which highlighted the native New Yorker as she faced severe federal charges back in 2005.
The “Big Momma Thang” rapper, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $50,000 for lying to a federal grand jury to protect her friends involved in a 2001 shootout outside of a Manhattan radio station. The rapper could’ve been hit with a 20-year sentence, but prosecutors requested three years, making her punishment very lenient. District Judge Gerard Lynch, who was appointed to the case, explained that the public perception of sending a young black entertainer to prison much longer than Martha Stewart, who only spent five months in prison for perjury, played a massive role in his decision.
During her trial Kim told the grand jury that she had not seen her manager, Damion Butler, at the radio station the day of the gunfight and that she did not recognize photographs of another associate, Suif Jackson; both men pleaded guilty to weapons offenses. She later admitted to falsely testifying, saying, “At the time I thought it was the right thing to do, but I now know it was wrong.”
During a BET docuseries, “Countdown to Lockdown,” which chronicled Kim’s last days of freedom, the lawyer shared her thoughts on the matter, saying, “It is much more serious than what is the code among friends or on the street.” She added, “What I would like to see is in the way that we’re handling cases like those of Lil’ Kim, we say as a community that we’re not going to glorify a gangster.”
A fan page for the rapper, Lil Kim Source, shared a post on Instagram over the weekend following Harris’ victory with a clip of her infamous comments. “The Queen Bee spoke with me earlier today about how she feels about United State Vice President-elect despite harsh comments aimed at her during her 2005 court trail,” the blog captioned their post. They added, “Beehive, this is a time to embrace after a long 4 years of hatred. @kamalaharris @joebiden We support you both! 🇺🇸🐝.”
Kim responded to the fan page, saying, “right support sis any way because she’s a woman a black woman at that then she will see that her actions and words were coming from a hateful place from inside herself.” She added, “Seeing this will make her feel stupid and hateful still very happy that they Won period #Change” and “#lovewins.”
Harris played no role in the rapper’s case as it was tried in Manhattan, outside of Harris’ jurisdiction. Many supporters of the page requested that the post be taken down altogether, including one user who wrote, “Please delete this before the blogs drag Kim. This is not the time for that.”
Another fan commented, “I love Lil’ Kim as much as anybody but I don’t see anything wrong in what she said, maybe that’s why Kim still supports her.” They added, “There was a shootout in the street where innocent people could’ve been killed and Kamala said it’s wrong and we’re not going to glorify gangsters. She told no lie.”
Kim later shared a photo of Biden and Harris holding hands raised in the air. “See I told y’all GOD already had it worked out!” she captioned the post. “Congratulations @joebiden @kamalaharris Jesus was counting them votes! #bidenharris2020.”
