A family dispute that began with a false Instagram claim escalated fast this week, pulling NBA YoungBoy's relationship with his mother into one of his most public and painful meltdowns yet.
The flashpoint came after YoungBoy's interview with Funny Marco — filmed in South Korea for the Open Thoughts series — in which the rapper spoke candidly about cutting off contact with his mother, Sherhonda Gaulden. Shortly after the interview dropped, Sherhonda posted an Instagram Story appearing to push back, writing: "Boy, keep my name out yo mouth before I put yo name in my mouth. I was down there when he did this interview."
YoungBoy shot back on his own Story, flatly denying she had ever set foot in Korea.
“Sherhonda never been to Korea a day in her life. Y'all just believe anything dumb fucks,” he wrote.
The denial eventually gave way to something rawer. During a livestream following her comments, YoungBoy dropped some raw honesty about his relationship with his mother.
"She go on that bitch flash and talk about gon lie with me and this and that," he said. "A lot of people don't know how the relationship was, this stuff behind the scenes: stupid-ass hoe spitting in my grandma's face.”
Funny Marco stepped into the comments to back YoungBoy's account, according to The Shade Room, writing: "He never said anything bad about his mama & nobody was there when we did the interview."
Sherhonda later acknowledged she was mistaken, believing the Korea sit-down occurred during prior visit by Funny Marco to Utah.
Those criticisms hit on a sore point. Sherhonda also posted a video challenging YoungBoy on his parenting, saying: "Kentrell, you don't talk to me. Or you don't talk to your fucking kids? Quit playing with me on this internet."
During the interview at the center of this whole controversy, YoungBoy explained why his relationship with his mother had reached a breaking point.
"I think my relationship with my mama used to be a big part of my anger," he said. "And so I told myself, like it's just certain shit you can't fix... So I just started loving my mom from a distance. Like at this point I never, like, speak to her again. Like, we'll never talk again. I know this for a fact. But I love her, as I care."
He also noted the rupture was no longer about money or unprocessed trauma, and described wanting her to know he still cares. He credited his grandmother as the more nurturing figure in his childhood.
YoungBoy also revealed that he relocated permanently to South Korea, citing its safety and distance from American chaos.
