Lizzo shares emotional message on Minneapolis protests
Lizzo shared an emotional message on the Minneapolis protests during an Instagram Live last night (May 31).
Protests are being held in the city and across the world following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis last week (May 25). Former police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Discussing the racism that’s “in the veins of this country,” Lizzo said: “What they just told me is at this point all the violence, the majority of the violence that’s happening in that city, is coming from the KKK and the heavily militarised police.
“There are people coming from the south, there are white supremacist terrorist groups coming from the south, patrolling the streets, shooting people. Follow some people in Minneapolis, ’cause the real story is not being told fully.”
“It’s never black people, it’s always white people using the term ‘race war’,” she added. “We don’t want that shit. We want what we’ve always wanted from the beginning of being in this fucking country, the same right that all these other people have. It’s not this difficult.”
She added: “It’s not that hard to see. The people that don’t see it don’t want to see it. I don’t have sympathy for people who don’t see it anymore. Black people are tired. We are so tired.”
“I’m tired of putting myself in danger,” Lizzo said. “It’s not danger from the protesters, [it’s] danger from the police who don’t value me. Danger of the white supremacist groups who are shooting at people, who are running people over with their cars. How do we not see where the issue is? Why is everyone being so — in the media — political?
“This isn’t a political issue. The issue is in politics, but it’s not a political issue. It’s so much deeper than politics. It’s in the veins of this country … there is racism running through its veins.”
Going on to say that she feels some hope for the future, the singer said: “This is the most outrage I’ve seen as a country, and that is starting to give me the first semblance of hope I’ve had in a long time. I really do believe in the good of people, and maybe that makes me naive, but I’ve seen Minneapolis rise up and do incredible things.”
Jay-Z called for justice for Floyd, saying “I am human, a father and a black man in pain and I am not the only one,” while Billie Eilish wrote “if I hear one more white person say ‘all lives matter’ one more fucking time I’m gonna lose my fucking mind” in an impassioned Instagram post.
