Ne-Yo’s wife faces backlash over ‘Hawaiian Silky’ hair comment about son

But she claps back in grand fashion

Feb 28, 2018

R&B singer Ne-Yo’s wife Crystal Renay Smith is getting flack after sending out an S.O.S about her son’s hair texture.

Smith, who is multiracial, took to Instagram to get tips on how to take care of her toddler’s hair – but her wording quickly sparked the age old ‘good hair’ debate. The boy, 22-month-old Shaffir Chimere Smith Jr., is Ne-Yo’s third child and first with Smith.

“So my son wasn’t blessed with mommy’s “Hawaiin silky” as my sister @nikki_loraine likes to say,” she shared in a now deleted post. “Can anyone suggest some good products or moisturizers? Nothing I’ve tried will help the dryness. His hair seems to just soak up everything instantly. Comment below if you’ve had this issue. Helllllllllllp.”

Fans quickly took issue with the implication that a child with coarse-textured hair was somehow less then “blessed,” and wasted no time calling the new mom out.

The clap back

However, ‘The Platinum Life’ star isn’t backing down and told TMZ that her haters were really just upset about seeing mixed-race couples together. She said people are assuming that she is not black just because she has several ethnicities in her background, which she says is untrue. She believes her critics are overreacting to the post.

“The thing about that is, I love my child and I quoted something that my sister-in-law…sister says to me,” she explained to a TMZ camera crew. “If people want to take things literal that’s fine. I’m asking for help and I was met with criticism and that’s okay because it just inspired me to start my own hair care line and it’s going to be coming out very soon.”