#BlackLivesMatter: Celebrities like Madonna react inappropriately to a major issue

George Floyd’s death has taken the world by storm ever since the incident came to light. Protests were held all around the globe condemning the horrendous act of Minneapolis Police when one of the officers choked Floyd to death. The #BlackLivesMatter movement gained momentum again and many celebrities contributed to the cause and supported it. But some of them seemingly did not understand the depth of the issue. Their irrational behaviour and comments have invited criticism. 

During an Instagram Live with Fat Joe, Lil Wayne said that people who face police brutality should blame themselves rather than the authorities or other races thus facing backlash. “We have to stop placing the blame on the whole force and everybody of a certain race, everybody with a badge,” he said in the live, “We have to actually get into who that person is, and if we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing.”

David Guetta has been called out for reacting in the most bizarre way to Floyd’s death. During a livestream for raising COVID-19 relief in late May, Guetta took a moment to address the issue and went on to give a “shout out” to Floyd’s family by playing a remixed version of Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s  “I Have a Dream” speech of 1963. This was not taken in a good way and was called the “whitest reaction” to racism. 

In another shocking reaction, Madonna took to Twitter to condemn Floyd’s death. She posted a video of her adopted son David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie dancing to Michae Jackson’s “They Don’t Really Care About Us”. “Brutal murder travels around the world my son David Dances to honor and pay tribute to George and His Family and all Acts of Racism and Discrimination that happen on a daily basis in America. #davidbanda #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd #MichaelJackson,” her tweet read. Many criticised the video and pointed out that the reaction was not appropriate.

Apart from these, celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Cara Delevigne and Kendal Jenner tagged their black friends while reposting a #BlackLivesMatter chain on their Instagram stories. Colombian singer Karol G had to apologise after she tweeted (now deleted) a photo of her dog to support the cause. Among the other celebrities called out for their unjustified reactions are Emma Watson and Ellen DeGeneres. These reactions serve as a hollow attempt and dilute the systemic racial discrimination that people of colour face across the world.