“Black Ink Crew: New York” star Ceaser Emanuel is seemingly maintaining his innocence amid charges he faces for animal abuse after he shared a cryptic message and mugshots of prominent civil rights figures Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on social media this week.
Amid conflicting reports that the 43-year-old turned himself into Fulton County authorities on Wednesday, July 20 — weeks after security footage of the reality star abusing a dog went viral — Ceaser, whose team denies the claims, took to his Instagram Stories. On IG, he shared the iconic snap of Parks. The photo was taken after she was arrested for refusing to vacate a row of four seats in the “colored” section of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in favor of a white passenger once the “white” area was filled.
Ceasar also shared two images of the Southern minister, including one of Wyatt Tee Walker’s photos of King in a cell at Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham. The civil rights leader had turned himself in to police custody after being found guilty on charges of “Parading Without a Permit.”
In another post, the tattoo boss shared a memo that read, “Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.” The disgraced VH1 star faced a downpour of criticism and fallout last month after video footage showed him hitting a dog with a metal chair.
Critics on social media were confused by Ceasar’s reference to the historic figures amid his own controversy, including one Instagram user who wrote, “I’m still trynna figure out why he posted Rosa Parks & MLK like they correlate with his situation.”
Another person felt it was “Wild how this man compared himself to MLK.” That person added, “Martin was nonviolent. You were on camera doing WWE moves to a puppy.”
In the aftermath, VH1 networks cut ties with the reality star. In a memo posted to their social media page, the station wrote. “We have made the decision to cut ties with Ceaser Emanuel from Black Ink Crew New York.” The network added, “Since next season was close to finishing production, this decision will not impact the upcoming season.”
