Skyh Black opens up about wedding backlash and pain of social media criticism on Kirk Franklin’s ‘Den of Kings’

In a vulnerable moment, actor Skyh Black revealed the emotional toll of social media judgment on him and his wife, KJ Smith.

Kirk Franklin’s “Den of Kings” program is a place where men can pull up and speak to each other as their real, authentic selves (as much as you can do when you know you’re being filmed, anyway) and share honestly and even get emotional if need be in a safe, healthy environment. Such was the case recently when Skyh Black joined the table and was asked by Franklin if he had any regrets about posting all of their wedding pictures online in 2023. It turns out, he does: his wedding to KJ Smith, a fellow actor in the Tyler Perry Universe on the show “Sistas,” was met with criticism from people who thought they were “doing too much.” 

“Your marriage was all over IG. The pictures were big. They were beautiful,” started Franklin. “They were this. They were that. They were I mean, it was like I mean, you know, you’re a good-looking dude. She’s a beautiful woman. Y’all look like y’all are models. It’s like everything looks beautiful. Do you ever have moments when you, yourself, that you’ve ever had regrets showing so much?”

Black, who has had roles and starred in several films and television shows and is currently starring in “All The Queens Men,” executive produced by Tyler Perry, didn’t hold back. 

“Yes. I do. And the reason being is because the response from people made both of us feel displaced. It hurt. I’m not gonna sit up here and say it didn’t; it hurt,” he shared. “A lot of people said it looked fake.” 

He continued, seemingly getting a chance to address something he’s been holding in for years, which drew emotions out of Black that he’s been sitting on as he reflected on why he and his wife wanted to share their happiness and come up with the world.

“People talking about a wedding! I’m able to get my grandma here who doesn’t fly, who grew up in Union Springs, Alabama, who raised me—I was abandoned as a kid. My granddad died before I made it, and that’s all he wanted to see. I’m able to show her Malibu. Wow. That’s what I’m able to do. So we were celebratory. Damn, I found somebody that I can talk to—I’ve cried so many times in front of my wife. That woman was my savior, and I’m her savior,” he started, as you can see the emotion starting to build in him. 

“I’ve waited and I deserve this moment. And people on social media made us feel like we didn’t deserve it. Yeah. And it hurt,” he said visibly hurt. 

“It’s like, ‘Damn, I’m happy, man.’ And you want to share it. It took me 17 years to be happy. Yeah. And I met the love of my f—- life. And I was like, and now you’re concerned about your image and then people have all this shit to say about your wedding. It’s like, I did my wedding my way. I just wanted to have a good time.” Black then reflected on trying to be there for his wife, which took him to another level of hurt.

“And not only that, when you can’t console your wife ’cause she’s going through she’s hurting. So it’s like, I don’t want you to hurt cause of somebody else. Stay out of the comment section, but that s—t is real.”

Hopefully Black and Smith are able to move on from that criticism and negativity and enjoy their life and love, and hopefully Franklin’s “Den of Kings” continues to be a space where men can speak and share and get counsel when needed; the other men on the episode (including Tyrese) along with Franklin provided words of affirmation and advice for navigating those troubled waters.