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Entertainment industry response to George Floyd protests
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The entertainment industry response to protests, triggered by the death of George Floyd, has been overwhelmingly positive. This has taken the form of an outpouring of support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, financial donations to adjacent organization, and active participation in protests. It has also included statements from major media companies and studios. Support from actors * Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds donated a record $200,000 to the NAACP. * Cole Sprouse attended a protest in Santa Monica, where he was arrested by police. * Jamie Foxx spoke at protests in both Minneapolis and San Francisco. * John Cusack claims to have been intimidated by police while trying to film their response to a protest, and posted the video he took in support. * Kendrick Sampson has been prominent in BLM protests, attending many and claiming to have been shot seven times with rubber bullets during one notable protest in Los Angeles. * Nick Cannon went to Minneapolis in order to protest alongside activists there. * Tessa Thompson attended a protest in Los Angeles, where she alleges the police begun violence. * Timothée Chalamet attended a protest in Los Angeles. Support from comedians * Chris Hardwick posted in support of BLM in the wake of protests. * Taylor Tomlinson donated more than $6,000 to charities supporting the protests. * Trevor Noah posted an eighteen-minute long video which quickly went viral, in which he explained the root causes of the protests and expressed support. Support from musicians The music industry's support for the protests has been heavily noted. The music industry's proposal of a "blackout" on Tuesday, June 2 soon spread across social media and became a wider trend. Though the original intent of the blackout appears to have been to increase focus on black artists, it has since expanded into trying to extend support to black voices generally. * Ariana Grande attended a protest in Los Angeles. * Beyonce spoke out in demanding justice for George Floyd and supporting protesters. * Brian May made multiple posts in support of the BLM protests, drawing inspiration from Nelson Mandela, and participated in Blackout Tuesday. * Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes attended a protest in Miami together. * Chance the Rapper spoke at a protest, and stated later that "destroying property is not violent" when claiming that police were responsible for violence at protests. * Drake donated $100,000 to National Bail Out in support of the protests. * Halsey attended a protest in Los Angeles, provided first aid care to protesters, and was struck twice by rubber bullets. * J. Cole attended a protest in North Carolina. * Jay-Z spoke to the Governor of Minnesota to weigh in on justice for George Floyd. * Kehlani attended a protest in Los Angeles and has donated more than $3,000 to the cause. * Machine Gun Kelly attended a protest. * Miguel shared a video of peaceful protesters on his Instagram. * Rihanna spoke out about the "blood curdling agony" of George Floyd's death, expressing support for protesters. * Taylor Swift spoke out against Donald Trump in the wake of protests, accusing him of stoking racism. * The Weeknd donated $100,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network in support of the BLM protests. * Jordan Peele posted in support of protests. * Kim Gruenenfelder shared friends' eyewitness accounts of police misconduct at a protest in Los Angeles, implying that the police were "the real thugs" at the protest, and participated in a week of social media blackout in recognition of Blackout Tuesday. * Tyler Perry has expressed support for peaceful protests, but actively condemned looting and violence. He has also spoken to George Floyd's family directly, who he says want peaceful protest. Support from studios A number of major studios and media companies have expressed support for Black Lives Matter and for the protests. These statements have been met with mixed reactions. * Amazon Studios issued a statement supporting Black Lives Matter. * Bob Iger of The Walt Disney Company sent an email to Disney employees promising "real change" in the wake of George Floyd's death. * Cartoon Network posted a tweet in support of Black Lives Matter alongside a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. * Hulu Tweeted that they "support black lives. Today, and every day." * Lionsgate expressed support for justice for George Floyd, and for continuing efforts for diversity in their company. * Marvel Entertainment expressed support for the black community and inclusion in a statement. * Netflix became the first major studio to issue a statement in support of Black Lives Matter in the wake of protests. * STARZ issued a statement supporting the black community, directing donations to Color of Change and the NAACP. * ViacomCBS issued a statement saying that black lives, culture, and communities matter. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds they broadcast a black screen with the words "I can't breathe" on several networks including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and VH1. * Warner Bros. released a statement quoting Bryan Stevenson, featured in their film Just Mercy. * YouTube pledged $1,000,000 to combat social injustice in response to the protests.
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