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TV personality and former footballer Mark Wright recently came under fire for dressing up as rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine for Halloween. The Only Way Is Essex star took to Instagram to share a snap of his Halloween look and tagged the musician in the caption.
The EFL League alum could be seen posing for a shirtless picture donning the singer’s signature colorful dreadlocks, accessories and “six nine” tattoos in the now-deleted post.
However, the cosplay left netizens highly disappointed, and many called out Mark Wright for using the controversial rapper as the inspiration behind his costume. Many criticized the Heart Radio presenter for sporting the look of a felon convicted for offence against a minor.
Following the severe backlash on social media, Mark Wright issued an apology for his action. The 34-year-old mentioned that he was unaware of the rapper’s criminal offences and only knew about his music:
“My apologies for last night’s Halloween picture. I only knew about Tekashi69’s music and not about his offences. Had I known, it would not have been my choice of costume.”
The former Crawley Town player initially disabled the comments section of his original Halloween post. The picture was later taken down after he received further backlash over his controversial costume.
Why was Mark Wright slammed for 6ix9ine Halloween costume?
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has often been deemed as one of the most controversial figures in the hip-hop industry. He has repeatedly made news for his consistent issues against the law.
Social media users were left enraged after Mark Wright decided to wear a 6ix9ine costume this Halloween. The latter was just 18 years old when he was charged with offences against a minor for inappropriate portrayal of a 13-year-old girl in his music video.
In 2018, the singer was arrested for allegedly choking a 16-year-old fan inside a shopping mall in Houston. He was arrested for the second time that year for his association with the Nine Trey Gang Members.
The Fefe singer was charged with federal RICO, possession of firearms, armed robbery and conspiracy to murder. In 2019, he also pled guilty to involvement in the shooting of rapper Chief Keef.
He pled guilty to nine charges that same year and was likely to face 47 years of jail time. However, he only faced a reduced sentence of 2 years for testifying against the gang members. The rapper’s former girlfriend Sara Molina also accused him of domestic violence, and the singer admitted to the offence.
Considering 6ix9ine’s history of criminal offence, fans of Mark Wright immediately slammed him for cosplaying as the controversial rapper for Halloween. Several social media users took to Twitter to criticize the actor for his costume:
As criticism continues to pour in online, it remains to be seen if 6ix9ine will respond to the ongoing controversy. Meanwhile, Mark Wright has already issued a public apology mentioning he was unaware of the rapper’s criminal record.
