JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two weeks after Jacksonville rapper and R&B singer YK Osiris offered to help the family of a 14-year-old Missouri teen who fell to his death from a towering Florida amusement ride, the artist said he has donated $15,000.
But the family of Tyre Sampson accused him of lying.
Recommended Videos
YK Osiris last month asked his nearly 3 million Instagram followers to help him contact the family of Sampson who died after he dropped out of his seat from a 430-foot, free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district not far from Disney World.
RELATED: Attorneys for family of teen who died in fall visit site of Orlando thrill ride
On Saturday, the 23-year-old artist, whose legal name is Osiris Williams, posted a screen recording showing his name on a list of people who donated to an online fundraiser started by Sampson’s mother. It showed Williams gave $15,000.
But the family of Sampson accused Williams of lying about the donation, The Shade Room reported.
On Saturday, TSR uploaded a post purportedly from Sampson’s brother.
“YK Osiri or whatever dude name is cancelled. Used lil bro for pure clout. Didn’t pay a dime but told the world otherwise,” the post read.
“Even posted a fake screenshot of a GoFundMe donation. Stop pretending you about giving back to the community just to get your sales up. Lame as hell,” he continued.
Sampson’s mother, Nekia Dodd, appeared to co-sign her son’s tweet and wrote, “And he blocked me on IG too!”
Williams appeared to respond to the accusations in his Instagram stories, writing: “Why me? I’m not even that type of person fr. I will never play around like that NEVER.”
The rapper also shared a GoFundMe “PSA” that explained why it might take one to two business days for the donation to show up in the fundraiser.
MORE: Florida order calls Orlando FreeFall ride ‘immediate danger to public health’
After apparently making the donation, Williams made a statement on Instagram that appeared to reference his sizable contribution and the controversy behind it.
“It’s a difference doing something from the heart, and doing something for clout,” he wrote. “When u do something genuine, u don’t care what comes with it.”
So far more than 1,000 people have donated to the fundraiser which has more than $34,000 as of Sunday.
It’s worth noting that YK Osiris does have a public history of being in debt to others. He has owed money to Lil Baby, French Montana and Drake and paid off his Drake debt by serenading him a live rendition of “Worth It.”