The Star Wars actor defended his explicit posts about racism regarding the recent killing of George Floyd, which has sparked massive protests in the state of Minnesota and across the globe. Tanzia Haq reports.
Actors and athletes alike have taken to social media to vehemently criticize the brutal killing of African-American George Floyd. The 46-year-old man was apprehended by police on Monday, 25 May 2020, and video footage taken by bystanders showed a white officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, despite Floyd’s repeated pleas that he couldn’t breathe.
Celebrities have since taken to social media to heavily criticize the actions of the police officers, with John Boyega being one of the loudest voices of criticism. The actor made a series of social media posts regarding racism, which were quickly echoed by fans and other celebrities. However, the actor’s posts soon began to gather comments that he was channelling his hatred towards white people, not racism itself.
Boyega defended his posts saying that though he lived in London, he was black and had suffered racist abuse his whole life in the hands of white people. Boyega expressed in an Instagram live video: “A black man was just murdered in cold blood in the street again, while saying he can’t breathe. That’s a continuous cycle going on.”
Boyega’s use of expletives while describing white on black racism also garnered criticism online, to which the actor replied that he was speaking as his own agent on his personal social media account where he doesn’t have to mind himself for the sake of young Star Wars fans.
