Jim Carrey posted a tribute to Aretha Franklin on Twitter on Thursday morning following the legendary singer’s death.
While many users expressed their appreciation for Carrey’s latest art rendering, others were bewildered by the tone of Franklin’s skin.
The portrait of the Queen of Soul depicts her with lavender hair and a significantly lighter complexion. Carrey captioned the picture, “Look how beautiful a life can be. Thank you, Aretha!”
Look how beautiful a life can be. Thank you, Aretha! pic.twitter.com/GpYGrq75mh
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) August 16, 2018
The replies to the tweet were plentiful, with many commenters expressing their concern over Carrey’s creative choices.
“Why is she white?” said some people commenting on the post, though some defended the depiction as showing the singer “moving toward the light.” A few users even went so far as to compare the portrait to “American Horror Story” actress Kathy Bates.
https://twitter.com/KT2Beeeeeee/status/1030133776352010245
https://twitter.com/Amrita_2810/status/1030138805217570818
she’s moving towards the light from what I can gather, glow on ger face makes her look white.
— Bilal S. Haider (@Bilal_S_Haider) August 16, 2018
why *is* she white though
— Cogiati Maru (@TheeBellwether) August 16, 2018
— jinger jade (@jingerjade_) August 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/Iced_Mango/status/1030151121686261760
thought it was Kathy Bates
— Fallon Stone | BLM (he/him) (@FallonStone) August 16, 2018
However, the response wasn’t all negative. Many people took to the comments to thank Carrey for a “beautiful” and “thoughtful” tribute.
Thank you Jim for a beautiful tribute. The beautiful voice of the "Queen of Soul" has been silenced ?
— Maui Jill (@iamjillonmaui) August 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/LornMyklsBitch/status/1030132788597600256
https://twitter.com/monicas17895526/status/1030162339331551239
Franklin died Thursday in Detroit at the age of 76, after battling diabetes and other physical ailments. Many public figures, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump, took to Twitter to express their condolences and gratitude for the singer’s musical contributions.