Stars of the entertainment world react to far-right riots in London

Stars of the entertainment world, including actor John Boyega and Enter Shikari frontman Rou Reynolds, have reacted to the far-right riots that took place in London today (June 13).

Far-right demonstrators headed to the city’s Parliament Square to “protect statues” such as one of Winston Churchill after it was defaced. Other monuments of problematic figures in the UK have been torn down by protestors in recent days.

Although Churchill’s statue had been boarded up, the group still gathered in Parliament Square where they engaged in violent clashes with the police. A Black Lives Matter that had previously been planned to take place in the area was called off before it started.

Stars in the music, film and TV industries have responded online to the riots in central London today. “Right decision by BLM to call off today’s demo. Leave these skullnuggets to pretend they fought in WW2, something they wouldn’t have the guts, nuts or discipline to do,” wrote Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds.

 

“Leave them to boil in their own contradictions & stupidity as they fight police & nazi salute the cenotaph.”

Big Zuu commented that the riots had shown “how backwards our country can be”. “These are the same people we have to deal with on an everyday basis and they think we can’t feel their racist energy,” he continued. “WE SEE STRAIGHT THROUGH YOU MATE YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO MY AFRICAN BLOODLINE FILLED WITH KINGS AND QUEENS YOU MAN FIGHT FOR SLAVE OWNERS AND OPPRESSORS.”

He added: “They don’t want society to be equal, they don’t want to see us rise above them with our creativity and intellect hahahahaha fucking idiots.”

 

 

 

Krept & Konan’s Konan tweeted: “ppl are trying to have peaceful protests because a human was killed these guys are going out and kicking off becuase statues got vandalised statues that can be remade make it make sense man stupid racist ppl replying to me kmt.”

Actor John Boyega, who gave an impassioned speech at a Black Lives Matter protest earlier this month (June 3), tweeted: “Waiting for Boris to call today’s visitors thugs :)”. His comments referenced the tag being used to describe Black Lives Matter protestors by the Prime Minister.

 

See more responses below.

 

George The Poet spoke to NME last week about the continuing Black Lives Matter protests and the treatment of Black people in the UK. “The situation is so grotesque and has been so widely broadcast for so long,” he said of the current movement being likened to a “#MeToo moment”.







“I’m talking about the majority of the 20th Century. For this recent outburst and outpouring of pain to be seen as ‘finally the moment’ is a complete fallacy. It’s a complete misrepresentation of how many moments have been won up to this point and just how futile those moments have been.”