The “One Love” Drama is heating up after Cindy Breakspeare’s birthday tribute to Bob Marley, which sparked controversy due to her specifics and reflections on their affair while Marley was married to Rita Marley, Ziggy Marley and Sharon Marley hailed their mother, Rita, as the true queen and Bob’s “ride or die wife.”
Ziggy took to instagram to described Rita’s unwavering support and sacrifices, emphasizing her regal qualities and strength saying, “When a woman tek a bullet in her head because she loves and stands with you and still show up days after to stand by your side again with no concern about her own safety it does something to a man it tells a man something he will never forget and forever cherish a woman like that is impossible to find one in a billion billion @bobmarley #rideordie wife @officialritamarley@onelovemovie JAH
#bobmarley #ritamarley.”
In a show of solidarity, Sharon echoed these sentiments, asserting that “no woman could compare to Rita.To woman can walk in my mother’s shoes. She is the real QUEEN 👑. Thats just facts. No hard feelings.”
The usually reserved Grammy winning artist Ziggy, who has taken the lead to promote the “Bob Marley: One Love” movie with appearances at the premiers, interviews and a performance on Jimmy Kimmel earlier this week, further commented on his own post saying, “i admire @officialritamarley strength, courage and dignity she is truly from a lineage of African Queens and it’s not just because she is my mother i have truly seen and every one who knows her how royal she is . Ive got stories from my childhood of her standing up under threat that to this day is etched in my memory. This woman is no ordinary woman.”
While not mentioning what the root cause of the coordinated sibling defense is, scenes of Cindy Breakspeare, the mother of Damian Marley were cut from the Reinaldo Marcus Green directed movie, and neither she or her son have attended the film’s promotional events.
Fans tuned into the looming off-big screen “One Love” drama brewing on social media with the posts made by the parties involved applauded the Marley siblings for defending their mother as the official wife of Bob, although in her own words, she didn’t feel like a wife while they were together.
One person said, “The one and only Empress Nana Rita Marley, if you look up “ride or die” in the dictionary, this is who you will see.”
Another person posted, “Rita Marley kids a mek some serious CLAP BACK.
Defend the QUEEN, yes 🙌🏾”
All this is happening ahead of the movie set for release in theaters next Wednesday and on the eve of Rita Marley, born Alpharita Constantina Anderson and Bob Marley’s wedding 58 years ago on February 10, 1966.
From their humble beginnings as struggling artists to her heroic role and undertakings in his career and surviving an assassination attempt, was highlighted in the “Bob Marley: One Love” biopic.
Despite Bob’s infidelity, Rita remained devoted, believing in his deep love for her. After Bob’s passing, Rita played a pivotal role as matriarch of the Marley family in expanding his legacy into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, showcasing her leadership and business acumen alongside their daughter Cedella.
Businessman Wayne Chen in an interview with WMV last month before the current online drama ensued that credit must be given to Rita as the beacon of light who upheld Marley’s legacy because the Stir It Up singer died without will in 1981. “Bob left no will and multiple baby mothers. It could easily have fallen apart. Rita swathe big picture and acted wisely. Highly under-appreciated,” he said.
“Compare the Marley legacy to other Jamaican properties (e.g,. Tosh, Coxsone), indeed to any global standard, and one will understand how she has allowed the brand/legacy to be leveraged to its maximum potential and continue to be a big money spinner for 40+ years,” he further commented.
In 2023 Bob Marley’s brand generated $16 million according to Forbes and the group of companies as well as his music rights which are owned by Universal Music Group have generated similar amounts every year for the last 10 years.
