The RnB singer, who married his wife Miya Dickey when she was 19, landed in hot water for saying women his age often come with baggage and 'single mothers with children are a red flag.'
- Apr 21, 2023
AceShowbiz - Marques Houston has addressed backlash over his recent comment. Instead of apologizing for saying women his age often come with "baggage," the R&B crooner blamed the media for pinning people against each other.
"To all my fans, supporters, and real truth seekers, I can see how the media would love to pin people against people for monetary gain," the 41-year-old wrote on Instagram Story. "But when [you're] at peace, loving life, and able to still make a positive impact in the entertainment world for over 2 decades, it's so easy to move out the way and let bottom feeders eat. #Protectyourpeace I LOVE YOU ALL!"
Marques, who married his wife Miya Dickey when she was 19, landed in hot water for his views on women. When speaking to Page Six, he said, "I'm 41, she is 22. I could've married a 44-year-old woman, and it could've been disastrous."
"There's a lot of women my age I've dated, they may have baggage," he added. "They may have kids, they may not. There's so many different women I've been with throughout my life, and it just so happens to be that this one caught my heart."
Marques went on to say that "single mothers with children are a red flag." He stated, "I would talk to my dad a lot, and he would always tell me to have your own kids because you never know what the baby daddies are about... So if you're gonna have kids, make sure it is with a woman that never had kids. So that was always my red flag… and a woman with an attitude. I don't like women with funky attitudes."
While Marques remained defiant, his former Immature bandmate Young Rome issued an apology. "As a member of Immature, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies in regards to the insensitive statements made by my former group member Marques Houston," he declared.
"We were raised by a tribe of strong independent women who faced hardships we will never fully understand," Young Rome continued. "Women today have enough battles to endure including the policing of their bodies, equal pay in the workplace, and beauty standards."
"We would be nothing without the loyal fans who have stood by us for three decades, some who happen to now be hardworking single mothers," he further explained. "As artists, it has always been important to us that the content of our music and who we represent as men would never disrespect women (especially women of color) and his views do not reflect those of the group."
