Karri Turner Bryant says there are bigger fish to fry amid ongoing commentary surrounding the dress she wore to the 2025 United Negro College Fund Atlanta Mayor’s Masked Ball.
Following her husband Pastor Jamal Bryant’s response to the backlash regarding the black lace gown that she wore to the ball held by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens on Dec. 20, Turner Bryant and her husband sat down on Wednesday on Tamron Hall to clear up the chatter for once and for all.
Many social media users flocked to the comments section of photos the couple shared from their appearance at the ball, citing disappointment that a first lady would wear a gown featuring a flesh-colored illusion in the chest area.
Karri Turner Bryant’s response
Turner Bryant told Hall that she was dressing for herself and her husband, with no intention of causing a ruckus.
“People have said, ‘Oh, you know, she knew it would get this reaction,’ Turner Bryant said. “My ego is not that big. I don’t dress for people. I dress for myself and for my husband. Am I a wife? Yeah, I’m a wife. I’m a daughter. I have a doctorate. I’m a professor. There are plenty of things that I do, and the challenge is, we often want to see a woman be one-dimensional. I am multi-dimensional. I carry multiple titles.”
What fellow clergyman Bishop Patrick Wooden had to say
In Bryant’s previously reported New Year’s Eve sermon, the notable preacher made it clear that he wouldn’t tolerate any negativity toward his wife.
“I needed to get this straight,” he said in the explosive address, where he also shared that he was the one who bought the dress for his wife. “I needed to deal with it head-on. Because the other day, the internet went crazy about a dress my wife had on.”
During the Tamron Hall Show appearance, Bryant revealed that he took offense at what Bishop Patrick Wooden, a pastor of the Upper Room Church of God, known for his conservative views, said about his wife in a recent sermon.
Wooden likened Turner Bryant’s ensemble to a “$2 whore,” and placed blame on Pastor Bryant, claiming he was “demeaning” his wife by purchasing the gown.
“There is nothing classy about that. There’s nothing modest about that,” Wooden said in the sermon.
Turner Bryant’s stance remains
Despite the harsh criticism, Turner Bryant continues to stand firm in her decision to wear the dress, noting that she’ll remain unapologetically herself.
She also urged those with so much to say to focus on the more pressing issues currently occurring in the nation.
“After you get done scrolling, our parents, many of us are still struggling with Social Security,” Turner Bryant said. “After you get done scrolling, there are still healthcare issues around insurance in this nation.”
She concluded, “After you get done scrolling, there are still upwards of 500,000 Black women who are unemployed in this nation in 2025 going into this year, and so we have so many things that we can put our energy and our focus on, and that’s what I hope we do.”
Watch Jamal and Karri’s full Tamron Hall appearance below.