A lot of y’alls favorites have showed their whole ass right now. Booty hole and all.
Remember, I am not exempt from any of these thoughts and actions as well, which is why I have to ask: WHEN THE FUCK DID WE DECIDE THAT CELEBRITIES ARE LEADERS?
I mean, this is something older than a lot of us and it’s been going on and whenever some shit happens like what’s been happening across the country with these recent protests, we always expect celebrties to say or do something, like we’re waiting on them to make a move. And it’s like, why? Because they have money? Because they have access to the powers that be? Why? When did they become the head of the pack?
If we can keep it a buck, a lot of these people aren’t well versed in the nuances of political and social language. Once they get money and start moving up in the world, they forget where they came from and start sounding tone deaf as fuck when asked for a statement. They begin to worry about their brand and they don’t want to alienate anyone who isn’t Black when it comes to the issues that affect us.
Going back to the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, celebrities gained a lot of ire by doing these, hey, we’re with you, let’s be hastag alone together, sing-a-longs, clapping for the front line “essential” sacrifices workers from the comfort of their McMansions. Tone deaf as fuck when people lost jobs and their lives over something that could’ve been handled much better. Singing “Imagine” is the last thing that anyone needed when they and their loved ones were dying, out of work or put in harms way.
Let’s get back to these recent protests. J. Cole been a real one and he was at a protest. Nick Cannon came out. Basketball player Karl Anthony Towns just lost his mother to the COVID-19 virus and managed to show up in Minneapolis along with Stephen Jackson. Enes Kantor came out. Ray J (being Ray J) pulled up somewhere. Chrissy Teigan- tone deaf as she has been in the past – is donating money. Cardi B out here trying to educate people in the best way she know how. John Boyega is using his voice for the cause and stoking fears that he may be blackballed just for doing the right thing. Many other celebrities are donating money or their time for this cause and, granted, I’m not a pocket watcher, but ideally, according to what morals I do have, this is what you should be doing. Anyone with privilege should be using that privilege in positive ways and helping out, not trying to lead when that isn’t their area of expertise, but helping on the front lines and behind the scenes and a lot of them are doing that, even if they don’t advertise it on Twitter and Instagram for brownie points.
Then you got the celebrities doing the bare minimum by at least tweeting support, hashtag Black Lives Matter or Save Black Lives, tweeting petitions and links to donate to bail funds and whatnot. We got a couple of surprises on this side of the field, especially in the wrestling world. Known dickhead and avid nigga sayer Randy Orton, after showing his ass with the Kaepernick protest of 2016 among other things, might have made a 180 by tweeting out his support, saying that he gets it now. I don’t know if I trust it, but fuck, good for him. I do hope that these people do more, put their money where their Twitter fingers are and be an example to their fans who will listen.
But there are the celebrities whom inspired this post. Showing they whole ass. “What about the businesses? What about the communities? Our taxes pay for those cop cars you’re burning! Atlanta is Wakanda! We shouldn’t be violent. The cops are people and are just as hurt as us. What about the Gucci, won’t someone please think about the Gucci? Go vote!”
It’s like these motherfuckers got access to money and white dick/pussy people and forgot every last piece of history, and yes, I know this country isn’t very good with teaching history, but they shold know better. Our ancestors were ripped away from our ancestral homes violently. Since we stepped foot on this land, all we’ve known is violence. Our leaders were taken down violently. Our men and women and children were beaten and raped. Our thriving communities, shining examples of the Black Capitalism that we’re always saying we should engage in, destroyed by violence. We continued to be handled with physical and mental violence. How dare you tell people not to react with the same energy that has been thrown at us for over 400 years, especially during and after the 99th anniversary of Tulsa massacre, which, guess what? Was violent as fuck.
Aside: I am also aware that most of the violence and looting and rioting is being perpetuated by agitators who do not have our best interests as a people in mind. Yes, it’s not all Black people destroying property and looting and the original message is being lost in translation, as it always is. With that being said, I am not super sad about the destruction of corporate owned property, a lot of that shit will be rebuilt and replaced. I am trying my hardest and to feel something for this and I can’t. CNN had their sign repainted the next day. Fuck that sign. The small businesses though? My deepest sympathies.
But these are the people we look to for leadership? Fuck em. I enjoy Jay-Z’s music, but I’m not looking to that nigga to get us to the Promised Land. He done supposedly put in a call to the Minnesota governor or something, but it took them several days to arrest the three other race soliders who were involved in George Floyd’s murder? Breonna Taylor’s murders still run free? Nigga, what the fuck are you here for? Who are you really here for?
Pay attention to who you give your devotion to. Their tone deafness or their silence speaks volumes. If and when this shit is all said and done, and if and we establish a new paradigm, remember the people who stood by and lectured us to be “peaceful”, to think about the biracial kids (and I don’t have a problem with biracial people, but LL’s comments were asinine and had nothing to do with anything), to spread love that has never been given to us, who didn’t say shit. Do not allow them to have a say in the new shit, because they will try to make it like the old shit with Black faces. Black capitialism ain’t our friends either. They want us to spend our money on them, and they implore us to donate the little funds they have when much of their wealth could fund the funerals of those murdered by cops several times over.
These people have platforms and should use those for good, not as a diversionary tactic. Entertainers, especially Black entertainers, have always been used as an opiate for the masses. “They look up to you because you made it out of the hellscape we created for you, so go tell them to be loving and peaceful and to turn the other cheek, Martin Luther King them until you’re blue in the face, but not from being choked to death.” Nah, we’re past that. If protecting your brand and your status is more important than standing up for your people, then you ain’t my people.
