The 'You Need to Calm Down' singer is appalled by President Trump for threatening violence amid protests against police brutality in the wake George Floyd's death.
- May 30, 2020
AceShowbiz - Taylor Swift has condemned U.S. leader Donald Trump for threatening violence in the wake of anti-police brutality protests in Minnesota.
Activists first took to the streets on Tuesday to demand action following the death of unarmed African-American George Floyd at the hands of cops and as the protests became increasingly violent, one city police station was set ablaze on Thursday, May 28, 2020, prompting Trump to take aim at the demonstrations, calling those taking part "thugs."
"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen," he tweeted. "Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"
Swift, who in recent years has been criticised for staying away from politics, was appalled by the President's rhetoric and on Friday morning she fired back, "After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? 'When the looting starts the shooting starts???' "
"We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump."
She wasn't the only star responding to news surrounding the Minnesota protests - Janelle Monae was appalled by the lack of white people protesting Floyd's death, tweeting, "When will the majority of protests & outrage be led by white people & police officers everywhere? These are your people killing us. Why are OUR voices & outrage LOUDER THAN YOURS during these times? WE DIDN'T DO THIS. I'm tired of US HAVING TO DO THE WORK YOU SHOULD BE DOING."
Cardi B, meanwhile, has uploaded a number of videos defending the protests and property damage happening in Minneapolis.
In one, she said, "At this point, I'm not against it, even though it do scare me (sic), and I don't want anybody to get hurt."
And Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong shared a quote attributed to Will Smith, "Racism is not getting worse, it's getting filmed."
Video footage captured Floyd struggling to breathe during his heavy-handed arrest as a cop kneeled on his neck. He fell unconscious at the scene and was pronounced dead at a nearby medical centre.
Meanwhile, Rage Against the Machine star Tom Morello has also been vocal about the protests, sharing videos of protesters in Minneapolis explaining their motives as well as a TikTok clip of a black cop criticising the four officers involved in Floyd's death.
The rocker has also invited angry fans to write and record songs about avenging Floyd, offering to play the best efforts on his SiriusXM radio show.
Paris Jackson and Dwayne Johnson have also vented their frustrations following George Floyd's death, with the movie action man admitting he was "trying to make sense" of the tragedy.
"I've had cops in my family. Good men...," he wrote on social media. "But when a man is handcuffed, on the ground, no longer a threat, with your brothers in arms standing around watching and he struggles to say, 'Please I can't breathe' when your knee is on his neck, not his back, but his neck - cutting off his air. Cop code must become moral code. Ethics code. HUMANITY code."
The four cops involved in the arrest have been fired but until Friday morning no arrests had been made. Derek Chauvin, the officer who pressed his knee against Floyd's neck, has since been taken into custody.
"I'm so sorry to the Floyd family. My heart breaks for you. Let the process begin now," Johnson added.
And Jackson offered up an emotional Instagram post, which read, "I'm heartbroken over yet another innocent life taken for no reason. from what I've gathered this was a good man, a man of peace. i am not, however, shocked. which infuriates me. this is a shocking incident, and yet it's happened so many times and still no change..."
"There were over 100 unarmed african americans shot and killed in 2015, and I'm sure that number has only risen since (sic). this is not okay. what is also not okay, is people reposting the videos... spread the story, not the trauma porn. it shouldn't take videos like this to make people do something about it."
