Wendy Williams spoke about the death ofTikTok starSwavy on her show on Wednesday.- Before announcing his death, she asked the audience to clap if they knew who he was.
- The segment received backlash on Twitter on Thursday and Friday, causing "Wendy Williams" to trend.
During Wednesday's episode of "The Wendy Williams Show," the titular host remarked on how she had "no idea" 19-year-old TikToker Swavy was before announcing that he had died. Swavy, whose real name was Matima Miller, died of a gunshot wound on Monday, police said.
A clip of Williams discussing Miller's death went viral on Twitter after user @AlexTMcNair uploaded it on Wednesday. As it circulated online on Thursday and Friday, users expressed shock at the way that Williams led up to announcing that Swavy had died.
"He's a TikTok star," Williams said on the show, after saying that she had no idea who Miller was and asking the studio audience to clap if they did. "He's got more followers than me. 2.5 million."
When a producer told Williams that she had more followers than Miller on Instagram, the audience cheered. Williams went on to say that she doesn't use TikTok and doesn't "want to be involved" with it.
Then, she told the audience that Miller was killed on Monday.
The clip of the segment has been viewed nearly five million times on Twitter.
Miller was a TikTok star with approximately 2.5 million followers on his account @babyface.s. He was known for both dancing videos and meme skits.
The Wilmington Police Department in Wilmington, Delaware, said in a statement that Miller had died Monday morning. A public information officer for the police department told Insider on Tuesday that there was an ongoing investigation into the shooting that killed the teen.
On Twitter, people expressed shock at the way that Williams had led into a segment about Miller's death, and the term "Wendy Williams" was trending on Twitter on Friday.
- (@MJFINESSELOVER) July 9, 2021
-Punk Ass Chauncey (@Robert_Leon_90) July 8, 2021
-Ryan (@rysimmons) July 8, 2021
Williams did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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