Angela Simmons Ripped for Bringing Gun-Shaped Purse to BET Awards

Angela Simmons has many in an uproar over the accessories she wore at the 2024 BET Awards. Her purse was a sparkling green gun, and in several shots on the red carpet and beyond, she pointed the purse at photographers in a joking manner. Amid a national gun violence epidemic, coupled with the fact that her former fiancée and father of her child, Sutton Tennyson, was shot and killed 13 times outside of his home in Atlanta in 2018. After all of the backlash, she’s responding to fans’ concerns. 

“When I chose the purse, I believed it was cute and unique and I made a poor decision in using it as an accessory to amplify my beauty,” she said in a lengthy statement on Instagram. “I deeply regret that this item, which symbolizes a gun, was inappropriate and insensitive, especially given my personal and community experiences with gun violence,” she added.

She added: “I understand the pain and hurt this has caused, especially for those who have been directly impacted by gun violence. For my entire life, I have always exemplified peace, unification, and the resolution of gun violence in America. I have personally lost my partner, the father of my child, to gun violence, and I have witnessed its devastating impact on my community in Southeast Queens.”

The socialite reiterated that she’s against gun violence and reinforced that her foundation, Angela’s Angels, has programs dedicated to helping victims and survivors. Her man, rapper Yo Gotti, also came to her defense. “She just practicing, lol,” he wrote in his Instagram Stories. 

Simmons has been anti-gun violence, at least publicly, since her tragic personal loss. The two were engulfed in a child custody dispute at the time of Tennyson’s murder. She also has a restraining order against him. Despite their challenges, she praised him as a father. In April 2022, Michael Williams was sentenced to life in prison for Tennyson’s murder.