South Carolina DJ apologizes to Flau'jae Johnson over perceived troll using late father's song

The DJ who played a song by the late father of Flau’jae Johnson at Colonial Life Arena after South Carolina beat LSU on Friday is attempting to clear the air. The perceived troll gained more attention Saturday when Johnson, a guard for the Tigers, took to social media to express her disapproval.

Amid the criticism that she was receiving, the DJ, who goes by DJ T.O., issued an apology on X to explain that it was not meant to be disrespectful toward Johnson. She went on to say that she has been a fan of Camoflauge, the stage name of Johnson’s father, for years and also played this particular song at other games.

“I apologize for playing Cut Friends Instrumental at the game yesterday,” she wrote. “It is never my intent to disrespect anyone or offend anyone when my job is to have fun and make sure other people have a good time. I’m from the Lowcountry/C-Port area so I’ve been playing it for years, even at other games, but I shouldn’t have played it at yesterday’s game.

“I play it on every radio station I’ve ever done from NC, GA, & SC & grew up on Camoflauge so it’s never played with ill intent or as a joke. I can’t control how anyone takes it but I can take responsibility & apologize.”

However, many were not so quick to buy the apology, pointing out that the DJ had previously joked about playing the song on her Instagram account. When one user posted a story and said “Playing Camoflauge at the end of the game was crazy,” she responded with “My bad” alongside a laughing emoji.

“I’ll take my L on the chin, but this just nasty behavior,” Johnson wrote alongside a screenshot of that story. “Nun funny bout that.”

Johnson was not yet born when her father, whose real name is Jason Johnson, was shot and killed in 2003. She has carried on his legacy by also being a musician in addition to playing basketball, and is signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.

The LSU star is in her junior season and averaging a career-high 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists. She won a national championship with the Tigers as a true freshman in the 2022-23 season and will be eligible to enter the WNBA Draft at the end of this season.

Johson didn’t have the best game Friday, finishing with 13 points on just 6-of-18 shooting. South Carolina has now won 17 consecutive games against LSU.