Akon says ‘the rich go through more issues than the poor’ as he mourns Michael K Williams

Akon is mourning the loss of Michael K Williams after his death.

The star of the HBO series The Wire and Boardwalk Empire was found dead in his New York apartment, aged 54.

In an interview with TMZ, Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, said that Williams was “actually a really good friend, amazing person, super funny, super talented”.

“It’s definitely a sad day for everybody,” the 48-year-old Senegalese-American songwriter said.

Akon said Williams’ death had made him think about the “facade of success” that can send celebrities into a spiral, and how Hollywood’s luxurious lifestyle fails to let people communicate with each other, or open up about their issues.

“There are just too many of us going down like that and I think when moments like this happen we all gotta reflect, cause we’re all going through things in our lives... and making decisions that actually affect not only us and our life but everyone that surrounds and looks up to us,” he said.

He added: “The famous and the rich go through more issues than the poor. You know when they say ‘More money, more problems,’ that’s a real thing.”

Akon said he believed that being in the limelight all the time makes it harder for celebrities and the rich to address or be open about their existing issues.

“You know, this business creates this, like, environment where everyone’s wearing a mask, no one tells you what’s really going on in your life, so real friends can’t even really advise you cause we don’t really know what’s happening cause we put on this facade of success but yet behind the face there’s so much happening,” he said.

The singer then highlighted that “we gotta check up on each other” and make sure “everyone is sound”.

“Just reach out and check on each other, man, cause we never really know what we’re going through,” he said.