The body of slain rapper Goonew was propped up on display at his memorial service Sunday, sparking shock and disgust on social media.
“oh s**t ! i just realized what this is,” rap star 50 Cent commented on a video showing Goonew’s corpse standing on stage at Bliss Nightclub in Washington, D.C. dressed in high-top sneakers, distressed jeans, a hoodie and a crown.
In a statement on Instagram, the club’s management said it was contacted by a funeral home about renting the venue for Goonew’s memorial but “Bliss was never aware of what would transpire. We sincerely apologize to all those who may be upset or offended.”
Goonew, whose real name is Markelle Morrow, was shot in Maryland on March 18. He was 24.
Reactions on social media were mostly “who thought this was ok?” and “wtf.” One person tweeted: “No way goonew mama approved that s**t that’s so sad & disrespectful.”
In fact, Goonew’s mother did approve.
“I’m pleased with how I sent my son away,” Patrice Morrow, who was at the event, told Fox5. “I wish people would just let me grieve in peace.”
The rapper’s sister Ariana Morrow added: “We don’t care about anybody and what ya’ll have to say negative. Nobody. We don’t care.
“They’re like, I know his mama wouldn’t approve of that. Yeah, she did, she was on stage with us.”
Last April, a Toronto funeral home went viral for staging the body of musician “Bonny” Brent McPherson behind a drum kit at his visitation.
"We spoke about doing things differently," explained Luann Jones, a friend of McPherson and owner of Covenant House Funeral Home. "This was a conversation we had many years ago.”
Jones told iHeartRadio.ca the process was easy and said funeral home workers around the world have reached out to learn how it was done.