Anyone who’s lost a loved one tragically knows that the pain might lessen with time, but it never really goes away.
Nobody knows that pain more than Growing Up Hip Hop star Angela Simmons. The real truth is Angela is still facing her pain today, six years after her former fiancé, Sutton Tennyson, was fatally injured with a weapon outside his garage in southwest Atlanta.
Sutton was also the father of Angela’s 8-year-old son, Sutton Joseph Tennyson Jr., and thankfully, according to a BET report published last year, young Sutton is flourishing.
Controversy About Angela Simmons’ Firearm-Shaped Purse
But Angela is continually forced to remember the tragedy, as Distractify reported on July 2, 2024. Did you hear about the controversy with Angela’s purse at this year’s BET Awards?
Billboard reported what happened, and shockingly, Angela was forced to apologize for one of her designer accessories this year.
According to Billboard, Angela posed with a purse shaped like a firearm on the BET Awards red carpet.” Distractify offered a more specific description of how Angela “arrived on the red carpet carrying a crystal-encrusted [firearm-shaped] purse.” They also wrote about a ton of shade that Angela received from social media critics.
Someone commented online that Angela “could have [done] without that damn clutch.” Another person complained, “Really, girl?! Wasn’t your baby daddy… never mind.” However, other people defended Angela.
A supporter wrote, “[Firearms] are not always used for violence.” They added, “It’s for protection. Women keep [firearms] on them to feel safe. You guys are reaching.”
Angela Said ‘… I’m Not Violent’
Angela didn’t back away from setting the record straight. Billboard wrote that she “posted a video explaining her wardrobe accessory choice.” Here’s what Angela had to say.
She explained in her video that she’d seen “a lot of conversation around the purse.” While she claimed that she doesn’t usually address “rumors and stuff,” Angela revealed, “I’m not like that. I’ve never been like that. I’m not violent.”
Angela reminded people that she’s “obviously been through a lot in my personal life when it comes to [firearm] violence,” and she confessed, “It’s very personal to me.” Then, Angela gave her honest side of the story.
She confessed that she “just liked the bag” and thought “it was cool and a fashion moment.” Angela finished with, “That was it. I didn’t have any intentions of ruffling anyone’s feathers… I’m sorry if it bothered anyone.”
Angela Simmons Was ‘Satisfied With The Ruling’ Of Man, Michael, Who Took Her Baby Father’s Life
In April 2022, People.com reported that the man who took Sutton’s life had received “life in prison.” It was obviously another reminder for Angela, who “reportedly gave emotional testimony before the court on the Friday” before the man got sentenced. He won’t be eligible for parole for more than 30 years.
People.com revealed how the news was bittersweet for Angela. They wrote that she was “satisfied with the ruling,” and Angela was able to celebrate the news on Instagram with “sentimental photos” of her with Sutton and their son and “a sweet throwback picture” of Sutton “holding their son on his shoulders.”
Angela triumphantly captioned the images with “Justice served today! We got you!” Along with a red heart emoji.
The man who took Sutton’s life on November 3, 2018, is Michael Williams. People.com wrote that they had “an alleged argument” before Michael pointed a weapon at Sutton and fired it “over a dozen” times. Sutton was only 37 when he passed away.
Following her tragedy, Angela posted “touching tributes” to Sutton on social media. People.com also described how Angela “captioned a series of family shots” with a “thank you” to Sutton “for leaving behind my greatest gift.”
Angela Simmons Speaks About Tragedy On The Tamron Hall Show
Angela was a special guest on the Tamron Hall Show two years ago. Tamron revealed that Angela had “inspired” the episode with her “body positivity,” and Tamron also revealed to Angela and the audience why she wanted to “get [Angela] on this show.”
Tamron took Angela back to that “devastating tragedy” in her life, but Tamron said, “I didn’t want to talk about the tragedy.” She praised Angela for her “resilience” after losing the father of her child when Sutton Jr. was “only two years old.” Then, Angela revealed her real truth.
Angela said that when she “first heard the news,” she “couldn’t accept… or understand it.” She confessed, “Then, all of a sudden, I was numb.”
She further revealed that she’d never understood “what it was like to physically feel [that] numb.” Angela added that she couldn’t feel her body, and that feeling was so distressing to her that she knew she had to “immediately go to therapy… the next day.”
Angela told Tamron that therapy “is an ongoing thing,” and she bravely confessed, “Without therapy, I don’t think I’d be standing here.”
The Heartbreaking Moment Angela Told Her Son About Death Of His Father, Sutton
In January 2020, People.com reported on Angela’s most painful conversation with her son about their shared tragedy. As People.com wrote, Angela was “still mourning the loss of her ex-fiancé,” and the conversation that she revealed is shocking.
The moment took place on a Growing Up Hip Hop episode. Angela “broke down in tears recalling the day she had to explain” to Sutton Jr. that his father had passed away.
During the episode, Angela was talking to her life coach. Her son was three then, and Angela said he’d started “mentioning his dad,” so she asked Sutton Jr. if he “wanted to see photos.”
After she showed her son “videos and pictures and stuff,” Angela said Sutton Jr. just “stopped.” Then, her son asked her a devastating question, and People.com wrote that it “stopped her in her tracks.”
How Angela’s Son Handled The Devastating News About His Father’s Death
The question that Angela was not expecting from her son was if his dad was still “alive.” Imagine the emotion that overwhelmed Angela when she had to explain to Sutton Jr., “No.”
It’s heartbreaking to hear Angela tell her life coach how she “struggled” with “gently” explaining the tragedy to Sutton Jr. “in a way he would understand.”
She admitted that she approached this difficult conversation in her “own way,” explaining to her son that his dad was “in heaven… with God… all the great things.” After she revealed this to her life coach, it became too much for Angela.
People.com wrote that she broke into tears as she described how her son laid his head on her chest and told her he “was sad.” Angela further explained that she’d never seen her son so “emotional.” She added, “He’s a happy kid, and that whole day, he was just kind of mopey and sad.”
Angela’s Emotional Tribute About Sutton
Distractify quoted a 2018 report from Boston25News.com that Sutton was “shot 13 times with a .45 caliber” weapon “at around 5 pm” the day he passed. Shockingly, the “perpetrator,” Michael, left Sutton deceased “inside an open garage.”
Distractify also confirmed that Angela deleted her social media post from November 4, 2018. That post included Angela’s emotional tribute and her thanks to Sutton for leaving her with Sutton Jr., her “greatest gift.”
Angela also thanked her fans and followers “for the outpouring of love” in that post. Then, she revealed her shock at having to say, “Rest In Peace, Sutton.” Angela bravely promised him twice that she would “hold SJ down in every way.”
Why Angela Simmons And Sutton Weren’t On Best Of Terms Before He Died
People.com reported that Michael turned himself in to the police on November 7, 2018. Unfortunately, Sutton and Angela had not been in the best place before he passed away.
Distractify quoted a report by the Daily Mail that mentioned a “court date on October 30, 2018.” Sutton and Angela were trying to settle a monthly custody payment for their son. Sutton was also fighting for joint custody after Angela was awarded “temporary custody over Sutton Jr. in July 2018.”
Allegedly, Sutton may have been mistreating Angela when they were together, and rumors about this grew in December 2017 when “Angela reportedly filed for an order of protection” against Sutton.
Angela’s court filing seemed to coincide with her calling off her engagement to Sutton. She’s kept the details of this unfortunate situation private, but Distractify reported that Angela did drop a bombshell on a Growing Up Hip Hop episode several years ago.
Distractify took the information from a report by Entertainment Tonight. While they confirmed that Angela “didn’t name” the person who’d mistreated her, some rumors claim she was “referring to” Sutton.
Sadly, Angela confessed, “I never thought this would be me.” She explained that she’d suffered “years” of verbal and emotional mistreatment by a former partner. She added how she “felt so stuck because I thought it would get better, and it didn’t.”
It was heartbreaking when Angela admitted to feeling “like used goods.” Shockingly, she thought, “Who wants me after I’ve been through this?” Angela revealed, “It’s not easy.”
