Seth Rogen to “All Life Matters”: unfollow me
The Actor Publically Shows His Support for Black Life Matters Movement
Actor Seth Rogen has had quite the time in quarantine. We know that the Superbad star, 38, has been getting through the pandemic by smoking ungodly amounts of weed and mostly avoiding social media.
But Rogen has returned to the web in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has taken the U.S. and the world by storm in recent weeks with its action against systemic racism and police brutality.
On June 2, Rogen posted a yellow graphic onto his Instagram page, which stated the phrase “Black lives matter” in large black letters.
“If this is a remotely controversial statement to you, feel free to unfollow me,” he wrote in the caption of the image.
Rogen received supportive comments from many fans. But when some Instagram users took issue with Rogen’s wording, Rogen clapped back:
Rogen’s fiery comments earned plenty of attention from the internet. A tweet screenshotting these interactions garnered a million likes on Twitter – a rare feat, even for viral posts. Other stars even gave him props: Queer Eye star Karamo Brown tweeted, “Yo! @Sethrogen is now and forever will be the homie in my head… for life!”
Rogen isn’t the only stoner celeb to use their platform to bring attention to systemic racism. Rihanna encouraged her nearly-100 million twitter following to let recent events inspire them to become more politically involved, and put her beauty brand Fenty on pause as part of an effort to “blackout” less important news.
Musician Billie Eilish shared Rogen’s distaste for the “all lives matter” retort, penning an explanation to her fans on Instagram:
“If I hear one more white person say “aLL liVeS maTtEr” one more f**king time I’m gonna lose my f**king mind,” the 18-year old singer wrote.
“I’m gonna try to explain this as if you were a child because it feels like that’s the only way you MFs will understand. If your friend gets a cut on their arm, are you gonna wait to give all your friends a BandAid first, because all arms matter? No, you’re gonna help your friend because they are in pain because they are in need because they are bleeding!”
The “Bad Guy” singer then discussed white privilege:
“If all lives matter why are black people killed for just being black? Why are immigrants persecuted? Why are white people given opportunities that people of other races aren’t? Why is it okay for white people to protest literally being asked to stay at home while carrying semi-automatic weapons? Why is it okay for black people to be called thugs for protesting the murder of innocent people? Do you know why? White. F***ing. Privilege.”
Even Ben and Jerry’s ice cream – one of the best things to get rid of the munchies – joined the conversation. The brand had previously spoken out about cannabis justice, and specifically referenced the fact that black people are arrested for weed-related offences more than white people, even in states where pot is legal.
Now, they’ve released a lengthy statement on racism: “We have to stand together with the victims of murder, marginalization, and repression because of their skin color, and with those who seek justice through protests across our country,” they wrote.
We’re glad to see stoners and celebs alike join the fight to take down white supremacy.
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stormzy_-_Openair_Frauenfeld_2019_03.jpg
