Et tu, Brutus? the Latin phrase synonymous with betrayal, immortalised by William Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, was how former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley began his pointed response to a now deleted but widely circulated social media post by former foreign affairs and Caricom minister Dr Amery Browne on May 6.

The online tension surfaced shortly after Arima MP Pennelope Beckles-Robinson received her instrument of appointment at the President’s House in St Ann’s.

On the same day, Browne posted on Facebook a photo of himself standing beside Beckles-Robinson, both smiling, with a caption that offered congratulations and a lyrical nod to Kendrick Lamar’s performance of his hit Not Like Us at this year's Super Bowl in the US. Browne tweaked Lamar's original statement, swapping “influence” for “authenticity.”