Reports say that the Braxton family feel like Traci Braxton's husband Kevin Surratt and her team are exploting her death. According to Page Six, sources say that Kevin and Traci's management team are planning a viewing with Zoom link and a funeral service against her wished.
The source said, “Traci did not want a funeral or wake. She did not want people looking all over her body. She specifically requested to be immediately cremated… There was a zoom meeting that made it clear about what she wanted, and now her husband is trying to cash in on her name.”
Kevin held a viewing for her last week and Traci's sisters Tamar, Trina, Towanda, Toni and their mother Evelyn Braxton opted out of attending. Their father Michael Conrad Braxton did attend, but he was allegedly initially turned away at the door “for not being on the list.”
A source said, “He was so upset that he wasn’t on the list. Someone from the church recognized him and let him in and he had to sit in the fourth row.” The insider added that the Traci's dad wasn’t even allowed “to speak or say any words about his daughter.”
Surratt tol Page Six that the story was not true and “my father-in-law and brother-in-law came in briefly. He also insisted that he invited the sisters but, “they did not show up.”
Meanwhile, the insider also revealed that “Traci’s husband was planning her funeral months before she died. She did not know that, but he was talking to other people about it.”
KEVIN SAYS HE IS HONORING TRACI'S FINAL WISHES
Surratt claimed he honored his wife’s wishes and that, “she explained everything to the funeral home” before she passed. He explained, “I was with my wife… more than anybody in this world. I know my wife, and when she got cancer, we really started to communicate about funeral plans and I was still trying to find treatments for her. I went to every single one of her doctor appointments throughout our entire marriage. That’s how we were, and now they’re treating me like a deadbeat husband.”
He also claimed that Traci “wanted a viewing and one memorial service in conjunction with her management, PR and other members to come together and celebrate her.”
Sources say that Traci's manager Cliff Jones, whom she “relinquished managerial duties” from before she passed, is further “disrespecting the family” by holding an actual funeral service.
Another source said that Jones reached out to gospel artists Kim Burrell and Byron Cage to perform at that service, but “they pulled out when they realized the sisters weren’t involved.” The source added, “A barcode is required for entry. It’s a whole production.”
The first source claimed, “Nobody ever called to ask the family anything. No one called her mom, her father, her sisters to say, ‘What do you guys think – of anything.'”
THE BRAXTON FAMILY IS HOLDING A PRIVATE SERVICE
Meanwhile, sources say that the family is expecting to hold their own private memorial “the way Traci requested” on April 2nd , which would have been Traci’s 51st birthday.
Kevin claimed “I was never invited… No one has sent me any type of invitation” to the private ceremony.” He later added, “none of it is true. I was meeting her wishes. Traci made our son the executor of her estate because she knew her family wouldn’t come after him. They’d come after me.”
As for how Traci would feel about the family fighting after her death, Kevin said, “She wouldn’t like it. She fought til the end. I’m just praying that it gets right.”
