Pastor Karri Bryant Responds To Backlash Over Dress Worn To UNCF Ball

Pastor Karri Bryant is shutting down the backlash she and Pastor Jamal Bryant have faced over the lace gown she wore to the UNCF Ball.

After Pastor Jamal Bryant publicly defended his wife’s UNCF ball dress from the pulpit, Pastor Karri Bryant is looking to move past the backlash surrounding the now-infamous outfit.

The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor and First Lady appeared on the Jan. 7 episode of the Tamron Hall Show, where they responded to public criticism they both received over the black lace gown with a flesh-colored illusion bodice Karri wore at the 2025 United Negro College Fund Atlanta Mayor’s Masked Ball on Dec. 20.

After Pastor Jamal Bryant’s fiery New Year’s Eve sermon, where he called out “insecure, jealous, petty, small-minded people” who took issue with the dress, he later told Hall he was “offended” by the backlash, including remarks from a fellow pastor who compared his treatment of his wife to that of a “prostitute,” but chose not to respond in a way that would discourage people from attending church.

“I don’t want them to take that offense to how church is or how the love of God is,” Jamal said.

For Karri, the pastor and author has tuned out the criticism by staying grounded in her purpose and secure in her identity in Christ.

“I hope and pray for women and men that see it is to be so anchored in who you are and who God has called you to be, that when even the noise is loud, you are still anchored in your own identity,” she said.

“If I listen to what I’ve heard many people say or if I read everything that I saw, I would probably be in a corner balled up somewhere, but I am clear about who created me,” she added.

The First Lady also urged people to focus on the more urgent issues facing the nation, emphasizing that her UNCF ball dress pales in comparison to the real challenges confronting the community.

“After you get done scrolling, our parents, many of us are still struggling with social security,” Karri said. “After you get done scrolling, there are still healthcare issues around insurance in this nation. 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 that we do.”