Ari Lennox on why she stopped going on Instagram Live, apologizes to Gayle and Oprah for “ignorant live”

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on May 26, 2023

Ari Lennox has let fans into her mind through her music and spontaneous Instagram Live sessions, the latter of which she’s chosen to stop doing. In a series of reflective tweets shared Friday, she explained that her IG Lives were a “lost and insecure” version of herself, who was “addicted to entertaining others so I didn’t have to face my own reality.”

The singer noted she’s “not always proud” of the times when she’s been a “b****,” and proceeded to issue an apology to two people who were targeted during one of those moments: Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.

Ari had criticized Gayle back in 2020 for the way she interrogated Lisa Leslie about her friendship with the late Kobe Bryant.

“F*** Gayle and f*** Oprah,” the singer yelled at the time, referring to the best friends as kale and okra. “Y’all are some self-hating pieces of s*** f*** a**** … I’m over y’all.” While apologizing Friday, she said “y’all legends didn’t deserve that wretched ignorant live.”

Moving forward, Ari says “there are no more IG lives from me, and prayerfully won’t be. They’re too addicting (for me), and I just don’t enjoy tap dancing at the expense of my mental health.”