A model who did a runway walk at her late friend's open-casket viewing has responded to the criticism from social media users.
Erica L. Carrington turned a funeral into a catwalk when she gracefully walked down a makeshift runway at late fashion designer Vernest Moore’s open casket viewing at the Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey on November 10.
Footage shared online revealed her strutting in Ve’Moore Couture designs to the tune of 'You Are My Friend (B.O.P. Soul Classic Mix)' while stunned guests applauded and watched in awe.
When Carrington reached the end, she stopped in front of Moore's coffin, blew a kiss, and then struck a fierce pose before sashaying away.
Watch the video below:The 'red carpet viewing' was one of three events honoring Moore, who passed away on October, 22, a few weeks after his 62nd birthday. The style of the funeral is said to be one of his final wishes before his death.
The New Jersey model shared the footage to her Instagram page, where she described the emotional day as "one of THEE MOST CHALLENGING things I have had to do."
"CAN’T BELIEVE this would be my final walk for you, so I WON’T," she continued. "From now on…even if I’m not walking FOR YOU, I’ll be walking WITH YOU, because I know you’ll ALWAYS be with me."
The video soon surfaced on X, formerly known as Twitter, where many viewers (who were probably unaware of the context) shared their shocked reactions to the open-casket funeral.
One user wrote: "I guarantee you can’t guess how this video ends," while another remarked: "I was not ready …. You can guess a billion times and you’ll still be wrong."
A third person exclaimed: "NO ONE PREPARED ME FOR THIS!!" and a fourth quipped: "When I tell you I had so many guesses and my jaw hit the floor when I got to the end…"
Meanwhile, other users defended the model's runway walk, insisting that the sendoff was likely what the late designer had wanted.
"Her explanation on Instagram says it’s a tribute to him because he was a designer. I’m guessing he requested to be celebrated this way," they penned.
A second interjected: "Honestly better than some of these other send-offs I’ve seen. Assuming he was the designer."
Furthermore, Carrington responded to the backlash she received over the clip, telling hosts on TMZ Live: "I think we sent Vernest off the way that he would have liked, and that's really all that matters."
The model also shared that she still gets teary-eyed thinking about the three-day events, which was a "celebration" dedicated to the late designer's life and legacy.
"I still get emotional thinking about it and watching the video because I shared some of his last moments with him not even knowing that they were his last moments," Carrington said. "So that just tells you what type of person he was."
Our thoughts are with Moore’s family and friends at this time.
