The Black Lives Matter protests are still going strong.
Over the weekend, many stars, including Michael B. Jordan, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, stepped out in Los Angeles to show support for Black Lives Matter.
Jordan spoke to protesters in Beverly Hills, urging Hollywood to “commit to black hiring.” At the protest, organized by premier talent agencies, he added, “I’m proud to have an inclusion rider and all that good stuff, and I use my power to demand diversity, but it’s time the studios and agencies and all these buildings we stand in front of do the same.”
Stressing the importance of voting, Michael added, “You committed to a 50/50 gender parity in 2020. Where is the challenge to commit to black hiring? Black content led by black executives, black consultants. Are you policing our storytelling, as well? So let us bring our darkness to the light. Black culture: the sneakers, sports, comedic culture that you guys love so much. We’ve dealt with discrimination at every turn.”
“Can you help fund black brands, companies, cultural leaders, black organizations? Michael asked the crowd. “Will you support a nonprofit that’s working to solve problems that our industry created?”
Michael’s “Just Mercy” co-star Jamie Foxx also participated in another BLM protest with his kids. On Instagram, he wrote, “Passing it along. Having my kids with me at the protest was bitter sweet. Having them watch the world come together was beautiful… But having to explain to them why we were all there was heartbreaking… let’s change the world so they don’t have to live in it the way we have been… #justiceforgeorgefloyd #blacklivesmatter #swipeleft.”
Foxx recently protested in Minneapolis, where George Floyd lost his life. Placing importance on “proximity,” he shared on Instagram, “A group of us traveled to Minneapolis to be a part of the protests for #GeorgeFloyd and stand with our brother @stak5. I believe in being in proximity. We were on the ground in Minneapolis, we traveled to San Francisco and we’re here in LA and the protests have been peaceful and beautiful. To everyone doing the work protesting, speaking, educating, signing petitions, thank you.”
Lopez and Rodriguez were seen holding up “Black Lives Matter” signs while marching in Los Angeles. Jennifer revealed on Instagram that her kids Emme and Max made their signs. She said, “Max told me a few days ago, ‘You know, Mom, since you have a following like some of my YouTuber gamers and they ask us to support things and we do, you should do that for George Floyd.’ I said, ‘Funny you say that, baby, I am planning a few things. Do you want to help by making a sign?’ And they did!”
“We talked about how if one person doesn’t have justice then no one does,” Lopez shared about their family conversations surrounding social justice. “That this country was built on the belief of freedom and justice for all. We must take a stand for what we believe in and fight against the injustices in this world. So we continue to peacefully protest until there is change.”
In London, Madonna surprised everyone by attending a protest on crutches. The pop icon has been battling a knee injury since last year.
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Sophie Turner didn’t allow her pregnancy get in the way of her protesting, either. Turner held up a “White Silence is Violence” sign while protesting with her husband Joe Jonas in los Angeles. She captioned an Instagram post, “No justice, no peace #BlackLivesMatter.”
Other stars who protested this weekend included Cole Sprouse, Kaia Gerber, Margaret Qualley, Eiza Gonzalezand Vanessa Hudgens.
A week ago, Cole was arrested following a protest in Santa Monica. He told his Instagram followers, “A group of peaceful protesters, myself included, were arrested yesterday in Santa Monica. So before the voracious horde of media sensationalism decides to somehow turn it about me, there’s a clear need to speak about the circumstances: Black Lives Matter. Peace, riots, looting, are an absolutely legitimate form of protest.”
Revealing that was among a group of people “detained when standing in solidarity” for the Black Lives Matter movement, Sprouse added, “We were given the option to leave, and were informed that if we did not retreat, we would be arrested. When many did turn to leave, we found another line of police officers blocking our route, at which point, they started zip tying us. It needs to be stated that as a straight white man, and a public figure, the institutional consequences of my detainment are nothing in comparison to others within the movement.”