Asian and Asian American celebrities speak out on injustice, racism, George Floyd

Henry Golding and his wife Liv Lo marched in Los Angeles.

The video-recorded death of George Floyd, is forever seered into the world's mind. Asian American celebrities have joined the movement against racial injustice, protesting against the prevailing systemic racism and voicing their opinions on social media, urging their fans to take a stand. 

Celebrities often get criticized for making political or controversial statements but they would not be human beings if they haven't been emotionally impacted by Floyd's death and formed some opinions on the subject of race in America, circa 2020. 

Actor Daniel Wu, creator and star of Into the Badlands, wrote an essay in  The Undefeated, (June 8, 2020), in a form of a letter to his late idol, Bruce Lee, in which he touched on the hate attacks against Asian Americans and protests that followed the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.

DANIEL WU

"Knowing that just my face alone can elicit so much hate, anger and violence is jarring. I am scared. Scared for the vulnerable. Scared for my daughter and her future in this country. And I am also angry. Angry at the systems in place that continually divide us. Angry that my status as an American is conditional. Angry that things haven’t changed. And this is just in the Asian American community. Recent events have shown that it is obviously far worse for the African American community, where hundreds of years of oppression have led to yet another killing of a black man at the hands of the police. It’s infuriating.

"I want to fight. Part of me wants to be provoked so I can lash out — smash them in the face like you smashed that sign to pieces. End it all with a flying kick. But this isn’t a movie and the solution is not as simple as knocking out the bad guy and saving the day. I initially started this letter hoping that you could impart your wisdom to me and tell me what to do in these dark times. But I understand what I need to do," Wu wrote.

"This pandemic cannot be knocked out with one swift kick, and neither can systemic racism. A small trickle of water can eventually cut through the toughest rock. It is constantly flowing and moving forward. When met with an obstacle, it does not stop but flows around it and eventually consumes it. When pushed, it moves out of the way but does not get pushed back. It can flow and it can crash and this is how we must face this fight. Whether white, black, brown or yellow, we must face these times with strength, empathy and compassion, and implore others to do the same while making sure not to get caught in the trap of becoming stone. We must remember that it’s imperative to join the other groups fighting this fight because they have been dealing with much worse for much longer, and only with solidarity can we form lakes and oceans to extinguish the flames of racism. 

In reference to his boyhood idol, Lee, Wu concluded, "Most importantly, as an individual, I must persevere and keep pushing, keep flowing. I must be water."

INSTAGRAM

Dwayne Johnson taped his post from his home in Los Angeles.

In a video posted on his Instagram account, action star Dwayne Johnson called out Donald Trump. In a powerful plea, the Samoan American called for change following Floyd’s death, asking for the country’s leaders to “normalize equality.”

“Past few days I’ve been stunned trying make sense of George Floyd’s death,” Johnson said via a post he shared on both Twitter and Instagram. “The video. The plea for breath. The callous response. The racism. The killing. This is our ongoing disease. I’ve had cops in my family. Good men. And there’s a cop code, granting you the authority to use force if your life is in danger. But when a man is handcuffed, on the ground, no longer a threat, with your brothers in arms standing around watching and he struggles to say, ‘please I can’t breathe’ when your knee is on his neck.. not his back, but his neck – cutting off his air. Cop code must become moral code. Ethics code. HUMANITY code.”

He went on: “Knowing that if you don’t ease up, then that man is going to die. So when you decide to not ease up, your intention is to kill. And that’s what this was. George Floyd, said ‘officer I can’t breathe’ as he struggled for air. He said these words a total of 15 times. Not once. Not twice. 15 times. These officers will be charged, I’m positive of that. Held accountable. But then where’s the greater accountability? The leadership to healing. More importantly, the leadership to EQUALITY. We ultimately win when we can normalize equality. I’m so sorry to the Floyd family. My heart breaks for you. Let the process begin now. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #NormalizeEquality.”

Popular South Korean band BTS donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter (BLM) in support of U.S. protests against police brutality, its music label, Big Hit Entertainment, told Reuters on Sunday.

On Thursday, the seven-member BTS wrote on its Twitter account that they are against racism and violence with the hashtag BlackLivesMatter.

“We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”

The K-pop group donated $1M to Black Lives Matters and their fans, known as the Army, matched the donation in a matter of hours.

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, who has a following of 667,000, was a whirlwind of activity on her Twitter account. Here are some of her tweets:

In a recent tweet, Kumail Nanjiani said that the perspective of people towards police has changed after hundreds of videos surfaced on social media shows cops using ‘excessive force’ to bring the chaos under control. He further said that people who did not think police brutality was an issue, ‘now believe police reform to be essential’. Kumail Nanjiani's tweet has garnered over one lakh likes.

"End this race war here in the US, and around the world. Wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, NO ONE deserves to die, especially at the hands of another because of their skin colour," actress Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) posted on Instagram.

However, her comments came back to bite her when trolls called ehr out on social media for previously promoting an "intense fairness moisturiser".

INSTAGRAM

PRIYANKA CHOPRA