Some stars spark outrage by seemingly siding with police despite the death of George Floyd, while some others are dragged for focusing more on the damages caused by looters instead of the real issue.
- Jun 21, 2020
AceShowbiz - Amid Black Lives Matter movement, which was sparked by the murder of George Floyd, several celebrities have been taking to their social media account to speak out on the matter. Some were making use of their big platform to raise people's awareness of the racial injustice that black people have been experiencing in America and share steps how to help bring justice to them. However, some of the stars landed in hot water for their controversial response to the whole thing instead.
One of them sparked outrage by seemingly siding with police despite the death of George, who was suffocated to death by a Minneapolis police officer. Some others were slammed online for focusing more on the damages caused by looters instead of the real issue. One star, meanwhile, was dragged over warning poeple of "black supremacy."
Check out the list of celebrities who were criticized for their problematic statement about Black Lives Matter movement.
1. Shameik Moore
Shameik Moore apparently blamed police brutality against black people on the lack of awareness of how to deal with police. Tweeting on May 28, the "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" star wrote, "See I have a very strong opinion that the black community hates to hear.. but needs to hear... we need to learn how to deal with police... and or racism... because THIS is the part of the scenario we have failed to fix."
It didn't take long before people came after him for the tone-deaf comments, prompting the actor to acknowledge his mistake. He apologized during an Instagram livestream, saying his comments "were taken out of context." He went on saying, "Again, I'll just say for the people watching, 'I did not mean to offend any of the Black community.' It was wrong timing."
2. Garrett Yrigoyen
Becca Kufrin's boyfriend Garrette Yrigoyen sparked outrage after he publicly showed support to the police amid police brutality that claimed George Floyd's life. In the controversial Instagram post, the 31-year-old noted that "there have been over 300 injured [police], shot, or killed in just one week. [Police] are suffering the consequences over an act they didn't commit. They continue to put in overtime away from their families, stay silent while being threatened, hated, and assaulted."
He also said that "they're still humans, with raw emotion, the more brutality they face the more on edge they become, they make mistakes, they have compassion, and no matter how terrible they are treated or whatever negative is said to them, they still show up for us when we need them!" The controversy surrounding Garrett apparently afftected his romance with Becca, who seemed to be uncertain with the state of their relationship following the scandal.
3. Meghan McCain
Meghan McCain also joined the list of celebrities whose response to the Black Lives Matter movement earned them backlash. In a tweet in June, the conservative co-host on "The View" criticized the looters for vandalizing her "eviscerated" neighborhood in New York, which, according to her, had became like "a war zone."
"Saturday Night Live" writer Kristen Bartlett, who lives in the same building with Meghan, was among the critics, telling her that things were fine unlike her claims. In a series of follow-up tweets, Meghan then explained that she "sent a tweet yesterday based on the news I saw happening in midtown we all have been watching all over different media platforms." She also wrote, "I support the peaceful protests, their movement but am absolutely heartbroken about the destruction in the city I have loved since I moved to when I was 18. It is important to have your voice heard and I hope everyone stays safe and healthy."
4. KJ Apa
KJ Apa's stance amid the Black Lives Matter movement was questioned as he was silent about the matter on social media. While discussing KJ's movie "The Hate U Give" on Twitter, comedian Elijah Daniel called the "Riverdale" star, "why is he so silent? He has such a massive young audience and got paid to be in a movie about police brutality and ... posted a black square?"
KJ then tried to explain himself, "I don't need to post about my opinions and beliefs in order for them to be real to me. I support black lives - but I don't feel it's necessary to prove to people I do by posting my attendance at these protests." However, people thought that he just showed his white privilege with the response. "I hope you realise that 'I don't need to post about my opinions and beliefs in order for them to be real to me' just shows how privileged you really are. You're not using your platform for good, when you could use it for so much good & you're not? bit of a shame," a naysayer wrote to him.
5. Trina
Meghan McCain wasn't the only one who wasn't happy with the violent protesters for Black Lives Matter movement. "Love & Hip Hop: Miami" cast member Trina faced backlash for likening the looters to "animals" who were running the streets in an episode of her and Trick Daddy's radio show. "Keep everybody off the streets, these animals off the streets, that are running around in Miami-Dade county acting like they've escaped from a zoo," Trina urged the authorities.
In response to the criticism, Trina issued several apologies in which she revealed that the murder of George Floyd reminded her of the death of Arthur McDuffie. "From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize fro any grief I have caused. I live my life on the values of respect and regard for all people, and I will continue to do so. None of us are perfect, but thank God, we have the ability to reflect, dissect, and begin anew," she said. That didn't stop the criticism as people launched petition to get Trina fired from the radio show.
6. Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne wasn't about to criticize police following the death of George Floyd. During his appearance on Fat Joe's Instagram Live, he shared that black community should blame themselves for "not doing more than what we think we're doing" instead of placing the blame on people with power and a certain race.
Unsurprisingly, Lil Wayne was slammed online for the remarks, prompting him to explain that his stance stemmed from his experience of being saved by a white cop when he was young. Defending his comments, Lil Wayne stated, "So … before you want to speculate about anything, understand that I go through situations, too, and we all got our situations, so don't judge no one for no reason, for how or whatever, don't judge."
7. Tomi Lahren
When most people focus on ending systemic racism in America, Republican supporter Tomi Lahren claimed that cops are not to be blamed for police brutality, but their parents were. "We don't have a policing problem in the U.S., we have a parenting problem," so Tomi, who is no stranger to voicing her controversial opinion, posted on her Twitter page.
Dismissing her remarks, "a retired police officer with 40 years of experience" replied to her and acknowledged that he did see a policing problem. Mocking her as a product of failed parenting herself, someone else chimed in, "I would consider myself a complete failure as a parent if I raised someone like you."
8. T.I.
Rapper T.I. might need to have a better judgement when comparing things to another. The hip-hop star raised people's eyebrows during a press conference alongside Killer Mike and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in which he condemned the violence and looting occurring in the city.
"This city don't deserve this. However, I understand that a lot of others do. But, we can't do this here. This is Wakanda. This is sacred, it's supposed to be protected," he said. While he meant no harm with the statement, it rubbed people the wrong way as it seemed like Tip was making light of the real issue. "T.I need to shut the hell up calling atlanta WAKANDA...what kind of stupidity ?" a hater commented. Another one tweeted, "Atlanta is one of the most segregated cities. Wakanda my a**. Just because all of the black people live on one side of town don't make s**t gravy."
9. LL Cool J
LL Cool J was among the celebrities who weighed in on the Black Lives Matter protests that have been taking place around the country. However, instead of centering his opinion on the black experience, the Queens native talked about how biracial families took the matter. "Imagine how people raising bi racial children feel right now!!!!!! This is crazy!!!!!!" so he wrote on his Twitter account in May, much to everyone's dismay.
In response to the hate comments he received over his views, the rapper explained on Instagram Live, "What you're not going to do is to get me to act and be like a moron or an idiot just for you to like me. Kiss my a**. I ain't doing that either." He went on to say, "I'm not going to tell lies on Twitter or act like I don't have questions about things just to please you. I don't care if you like me or not because there are a lot of likeminded people who get it. And that's who I care about."
10. Candace Owens
It is almost unsurprising to see Candance Owens being included in the list of celebrities with controversial remarks on Black Lives Matter movement. Despite being black herself, Candace seemed to be against people seeking justice for George, the 46-year-old African-American who died from police brutality.
Attacking his character, she said, "George Floyd was not an amazing person," referring to the time of when he was arrested for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarette. "George Floyd is being uplifted like he's an amazing human being. We are being sold a lot of lies at the detriment to the black community, at the detriment to the white community and at the detriment to America as a whole. So, I want to come out and say that I do not support George Floyd and the media's depiction of him as a martyr for black America."
11. Terry Crews
For Terry Crews, amid the Black Lives Matter movement, it's important to get united. The "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" star took to his Twitter page to call for a unity to end racial injustice, but the tweet rubbed people the wrong way as he mentioned about "Black supremacy." He said, "Defeating White supremacy without White people creates Black supremacy. Equality is the truth. Like it or not, we are all in this together."
Despite the backlash, Terry still stood by his comments, explaining, "What I said was, defeating white supremacy without white people could create black supremacy. In the black race, in black America, we have gatekeepers. We have people who have decided that who is going to black and who's not. I, simply because I have a mixed-race wife, have been discounted from the conversation a lot of times by very militant movements."
