Lil Yachty Under Fire After Tasteless George Floyd Lyric — Social Media Erupts

Rapper Lil Yachty is under intense criticism after previewing a song on streamer PlaqueBoyMax's channel that included a controversial lyric referencing George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose death at the hands of police in 2020 sparked global protests.

During the Aug. 14 livestream, the Atlanta-born artist — whose real name is Miles McCollum — rapped, "Put my knee up on her neck, I went George Floyd," while he and others nodded along. The lyric, which appeared to make a sexual joke using the circumstances of Floyd's killing, quickly drew widespread backlash across social media.

"This shit is so ass dawg. You can do better than this," one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another said, "Mocking one of the most horrific deaths in American history ... Why would you green-light an ignorant ass bar like this?"

Several fans drew comparisons between the line and past rap controversies, citing Lil Wayne's 2013 Emmett Till reference and his 2009 Rodney King lyric. Others described Yachty as "one of the worst rappers" to go mainstream, questioning why he still has a platform.

Stephen Jackson, a former NBA player and close friend of Floyd's, was tagged in posts condemning the lyric. "We do not support bunk gibberish like this in the community. All blessings to King George Floyd, his family ... and everyone against this disrespectful nonsense," one commenter wrote.

Floyd, 46, died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. The incident, captured on video, prompted nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

As of Thursday, Lil Yachty had not publicly addressed the criticism.

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