It’s been just over a week since George Floyd’s death, and millions of people across the country have used their voices to demand justice. There have been huge protests in every major city, and while some have broken out into violence, the vast majority have been peaceful demonstrations. It’s so important that we use our voices and platforms right now, and many celebrities have gone beyond just social media posts and joined the protestors in the streets.
Ariana Grande
hours and miles of peaceful protesting yesterday that got little to no coverage.
all throughout beverly hills and west hollywood we chanted, people beeped and cheered along.
we were passionate, we were loud, we were loving.
cover this too please. #BLACKLIVESMATTER https://t.co/vD90CEtF94 pic.twitter.com/GZ6uKDfPM7— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 31, 2020
On her social media, Ariana Grande highlighted the peaceful protest on the west side of LA over the weekend. She shared photos from Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, pointing out that, compared to more violent incidents, this peaceful demonstration got “little to no coverage.” When all you’re seeing on the news are images and videos of looting and fires, it’s easy to think that all the protests end up in violence. That’s not true, and the fact that Ariana Grande is showing a peaceful protest to her 74 million Twitter followers is huge.
Tinashe
Show up pic.twitter.com/jl9fkEh4eU
— TINASHE (@Tinashe) May 30, 2020
If you noticed, Ariana Grande’s tweet about the protest she attended was in response to Tinashe’s thread, where she also posted pictures of a peaceful protest in Beverly Hills. She posted inspiring pictures of huge crowds gathering and marching in solidarity. As one of many artists who’s had to cancel tour dates due to COVID-19, she’s also encouraged her fans to donate their ticket refunds to important causes like bail funds.
Madison Beer
Madison Beer been outspoken about police brutality for years, and she’s been out protesting in LA multiple times in the last few days. While at the protest on Sunday, the group Madison was with got tear-gassed by police, despite the fact that they were being completely peaceful.
In addition to attending protests, Madison has been sharing lots of important information on her social media, including curfew information, numbers to call in case of unlawful arrests, and locations where police are using tear gas. In a post on her story, she acknowledged all the thanks she’s gotten for her work, but made it clear that “it should be expected.”
John Cusack
Cops didn’t like me filming the burning car so they came at me with batons. Hitting my bike.
Ahhm here’s the audio pic.twitter.com/tfaOoVCw5v”— John Cusack (@johncusack) May 31, 2020
John Cusack, who is a huge Bernie Sanders supporter and posts constantly about his progressive politics, joined protestors in Chicago on Saturday night. Judging from his tweets, things were mostly peaceful, but at one point he came upon a car that had been set on fire. When he started filming the car, police officers came toward him with batons, hitting his bike and screaming in his face. This short video of the encounter is terrifying, so I can only imagine what it was like to actually experience it. In another tweet, Cusack added that he “would be very surprised if this is a one or two day event,” and that it feels like “many streams of outrage coming to a head, a wave peaking.”
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey is no stranger to controversy lately, and despite joining protests over the weekend, she still got herself into hot water. She posted a series of images from the protests on her Instagram story, which is fine, but one of them was a video of a store being looted, in which people’s faces were clearly visible. This is the exact kind of thing you’re NOT supposed to post from a protest, and people understandably got very angry.
@LanaDelRey thank you for removing your post!!!!!!!!!!!
— TINASHE (@Tinashe) May 31, 2020
Lots of people tagged Lana on social media asking her to take the image down, which she did pretty quickly. An issue with posting pictures of videos of protests is that showing someone’s face could potentially lead to them getting arrested, deported, or otherwise targeted by law enforcement. It’s okay to make mistakes and learn right now, but everyone needs to be extremely careful about what they’re posting.
J. Cole
J. Cole has joined the protest in downtown Fayetteville, NC. So remember all the rappers who were out here donating and supporting when its time to buy albums. pic.twitter.com/OjJWRLFtJy
— OBJ said ask about him (@evelynvwoodsen) May 30, 2020
J. Cole has been out protesting in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina, along with NBA player Dennis Smith. According to reports from those at the protest, they declined to do any interviews or take photos with fans, not wanting to pull any focus from the cause at hand. It seems like most celebs at that protests have done the same, and it’s great to see them just doing something because it’s the right thing to do. Also?? If you’re at a protest, it is NOT the time or place to try to take a selfie with a celeb for clout. Read the room.
Halsey
Halsey has done so much that she’s getting her own article, but we’d be remiss not to mention her here as well. She was at a peaceful protest over the weekend, when police fired teargas and rubber bullets at the crowd. She warned her followers about the danger of rubber bullets (which are way more intense than they sound), saying that she “had to bandage a man who looked like his entire face had exploded today.”
fired rubber bullets at us. we did not breach the line. hands were up. unmoving. and they gassed and fired. pic.twitter.com/K8YauF0APn
— h (@halsey) May 31, 2020
These are just some of the celebrities who have gotten out to join the protests recently, and surely this list will continue to grow this week. We’re at a major moment in this movement, and it’s more important than ever that we all show our support in whatever way we can. Whether this means attending a protest, making a donation, or working to educate yourself and become a better ally, we all have to do something.
Images: DFree / Shutterstock.com; arianagrande, tinashe, johncusack, evelynvwoodsen / Twitter; madisonbeer, halsey / Instagram
