A TikTok user named @madelineclopez1 captured footage of popular New York rapper Keith Murray appearing to be under the influence and in need of money. Now the content creator is receiving a wave of backlash for exploiting the rap legend while he's down.
The one-minute video begins with Lopez approaching Murray, standing outside of what appears to be a motel or apartment building. The Def Jam artist, formerly known as "The Most Beautifulest Thing In The World," requested not to be filmed while simultaneously asking her to help him out.
Keith Murray attends Stage 48 on Oct. 2, 2014, in New York. (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
The Def Squad member puts his hands up to stop her and says, “Don’t film me.”
“Don't film you?” she asks while walking closer to him. As he murmurs, she says to her followers, “Guys, look who it is. It's Keith Murray!”
Calmly but with a quake in his voice, Murray asks, “Why are you filming me?”
“Why?” she said rhetorically while approaching the rapper, “’Cause you're famous. You're cool. Do you want money?”
Murray says, “Yes.” Then she asks him how much he wants. He replies that he will take as much as she is willing to give him. When she tells him that she will give him $20 and he agrees, she springs a caveat to the donation.
“So let me just record you real quick,” Lopez bartered while getting Murray to confirm that he is indeed the "Get Lifted" rapper.
“Why are you recording me?” he said, his hand up and blocking his face from the camera.
“Cause you’re Keith Murray, OK!” she continued before demanding, “Can you sing something? Can you sing rap or something? You want $20? So rap.”
In the video, Murray didn't appear like his normal self. He was not dressed in designer digs but in a stretched-out white T-shirt and oversized jeans. His speech was slurred, and he seemed confused and under the influence.
Immediately upon catching wind of the clip, fans on social media criticized Lopez, accusing her of recording the rapper while he was in distress to go viral. They condemned her for admitting that her motive for filming him was solely because of his fame.
People on social media were furious at her video, condemning the woman for videotaping the star. The backlash was so massive that she took down the video from TikTok, but not before others downloaded it.
“Can we talk about Keith Murray for a minute? I'm more pissed off at the woman recording. It's h
