Stars are sharing passionate messages on social media following the tragic death of George Floyd.
Beyonce took to Instagram on Friday (May 29) with a video message for her fans.
She began by calling for justice for George’s death. “We’re broken and we’re disgusted,” she continued. “We cannot normalize this pain. I’m not only speaking to people of color. If you’re white, black, brown, or anything in between, I’m sure you feel hopeless by the racism going on in America right now.”
“No more senseless killings of human beings,” she exclaimed. “No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away.”
“George is all of our family in humanity. He’s family because he’s a fellow American. There have been too many times that we’ve seen these violent killings and no consequences. Yes, someone has been charged but justice is far from being achieved,” the “Halo” singer added, and implored fans to “continue to pray for peace, compassion and healing for our country.“
Rihanna also shared her sentiments on George Floyd’s tragic death and how it has affected the nation. “For the last few days, the magnitude of devastation, anger, sadness I’ve felt has been overwhelming to say the least! Watching my people get murdered and lynched day after day pushed me to a heavy place in my heart,” Riri wrote alongside a photo of George. “If intentional MURDER is the fit consequence for “drugs” or “resisting arrest”….then what’s the fit consequence for MURDER???! #GeorgeFloyd #AhmaudArbery #BreonnaTaylor.”
Nicki Minaj took to Instagram to share a photo of the last words of people of color who were killed by police officers, reminding people that if no one speaks out, the same thing will happen over and over.
Paris Hilton also took to Instagram and called for everyone to speak up and help effect change. “Changes need to be made & it starts from us. There is no time better than now to use our platform for awareness & justice. Let us all be part of the change. #BlackLivesMatter #TakeAStand #SpreadLove #BeKind #LoveAll,” she wrote.
Britney Spears also shared a message of support and unity, writing, “What the world needs now is love ….. 🌎💔 my heart breaks for my friends in the black community …. and for everything going on in our country. Right now I think we all should do what we can to listen …. learn … do better …. and use our voices for good. To start I will be participating in #BlackoutTuesday tomorrow ….. I won’t be posting on social media and I ask you all to do the same. We should use the time away from our devices to focus on what we can do to make the world a better place …. for ALL of us !!!!! PS if you’d like to help …. text FLOYD to 55156 and donate to organizations like #BlackLivesMatter if you are able to. God Bless You ALL !!!! #TheShowMustBePaused”
Jennifer Lopez shared a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., and asked her followers, “How can anyone say they love this country and not do something when they see lives cut short because of the color of their skin?”
Lady Gaga also posted a statement on Instagram about her thoughts on the protests happening across the country. “I have a lot of things to say about this, but the first thing I want to say is I’m afraid to say anything that will insight further anger, although that is precisely the emotion that’s justified,” she wrote. “I do not wish to contribute to more violence; I wish to contribute to a solution. I am as outraged by the death of George Floyd as I have been by the deaths of exponentially too many Black lives over hundreds of years that have been taken from us in the country as a result of systemic racism and the corrupt system that support it. The voices of the black community have been silenced for too long and that silence has proven deadly time and time again. And no matter what they do to protest, they are still met with no compassion by the leaders that are meant to protect them. Everyday people in America are racist, that’s a fact.”
Selena Gomez shared her heartbreak on the matter. “I have spent the last 24 hours just trying to process this all. Nothing anyone says can take back what has happened. But we can and must all make sure to take action,” she wrote. “Too many black lives have been taken from us for far too long. They deserve better. They deserve to be heard. We all need to do better and not sit in silence as this injustice continues.”
Lizzo went on Instagram Live on Sunday (May 31) and talked to her followers about finding the good amid the hurt and grief. “This is the most outrage I’ve seen as a country and that is starting to give me the first semblance of hope that I’ve had in a long time,” Lizzo said. “I really do believe in the good in people and maybe that makes me naive, but I’ve seen Minneapolis rise up and do incredible things and this isn’t the first time.”
She also teared up talking about the people of Minneapolis who have been hit hard by police brutality and the ongoing protests. “They didn’t ask for any of this, all they asked for was justice,” she said.
“Not only do we want to see appropriate justice — indictments, convictions — we want to see the entire police organization renovated. We need a whole f**king investigation,” she continued, and noted that she does not speak for the community. “I am just one person and this is just one person’s thoughts, one person’s point of view, and you watching, you’re just one person, but what we can do when we actually come together for each other is what the future of this country is all about. It definitely ain’t about the past…but it is about the future.”
The Weeknd shared that he has made contributions – $200,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, $200,000 to The Colin Kaepernick Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative, and another $100,000 to the National Bail Out – to organizations that support the Black Lives Matter movement in hopes to inspire others to do the same.
“Keep supporting our brothers and sisters out there risking everything to push for actual change for our black lives,” he captioned the screenshots of the donations. “Urging everyone with big pockets to give and give big and if you have less please give what you can even if it’s a small amount.#blacklivesmatter.”
