Cardi B, Ciara, and Diddy were among the stars calling for a change to the U.S. justice system on Tuesday (May 26, 2020), after Minneapolis man George Floyd died while being arrested by white police officers.
Footage from the Monday night (May 25, 2020) incident, during which the unarmed black man can be heard repeatedly telling officers he was struggling to breathe, has outraged thousands online and led to the dismissals of the cops involved.
While the video evidence is shocking, it’s unfortunately nothing new, with numerous stars taking to social media to address the repeated similar instances of police brutality between white police officers and black suspects.
“My heart can’t take it, seeing what’s happened to #GeorgeFloyd,” Ciara penned. “This is eerily similar to the death of #EricGarner. There has to be a stopping point in the process of arresting someone. It’s all senseless.”
Rapper Cardi wrote on social media: “Enough is enough! What will it take? A civil war? A new president? Violent riots? It’s tired ! I’m tired ! The country is tired!
“You don’t put fear in people when you do this you just show how coward YOU ARE ! And how America is really not the land of the free!”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs also reacted, sharing an emoji of praying hands in reaction to the senseless death, while Viola Davis put the racial imbalance of the situation and others like it into perspective.
“This is what it means to be Black in America. Tried. Convicted. Killed for being Black,” the actress explained. “We are dictated by hundreds of years of policies that have restricted our very existence and still have to continue to face modern day lynchings.
“Here’s the thing……America will never be great until we can figure out a way for it to work for EVERYBODY!!!”
Demi Lovato also commented, adding, “I’m tired of typing Rest in Peace … I wish black men could live in peace,” while Halsey said the incident was an example of a broken system with racial imbalances and little consequences for the offenders.
Andy Cohen was also among the stars reacting, insisting that “every American should be outraged at” seeing the images from the incident, while Jameela Jamil lobbied for the arrests of two of the officers involved in the incident.
FBI officials and Minnesota state authorities are investigating the incident.
“Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tweeted on Tuesday. “For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a black man’s neck. Five minutes. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has called the incident “sickening”, adding: “We will get answers and seek justice.”
