Emma Watson trends after being canceled for #BlackoutTuesday posts, fans say she's ‘always been against racism’
The music industry decided to organize a moratorium on business as usual on Tuesday to symbolize support for the Black Lives Matter movement and redress the historical inequalities that have been rampant in the industry in the past. As a show of support, 'Little Women' actor Emma Watson decided to post three blank black images on Instagram with hashtags #blackouttuesday #theshowmustbepaused #amplifymelanatedvoices #amplifyblackvoices. At a time when word about using #BlackLivesMatter with blank images obstructing the movement is being spread, Watson's move to do so has brought attention not only to her post but also the fact that she did not speak about the movement over the past few days when the protests have been raging in different parts of the US.
Her decision to edit the black blank image with a white outline has further caused fans' frustration over the fact that the star with 57.2 million followers chose aesthetics over taking solid steps towards change. She hasn't shared links to petitions or donations and this has caused a heavy backlash from the online community.
One Twitter user targeted the ‘Harry Potter’ star and posted, "Emma Watson has 57.1M followers on Instagram, her first post about BLM has over 1M likes and instead of sharing links to petitions and donations, she thought the best idea was sharing? tf is that, open your purse, SPREAD INFORMATION."
One fan posted, "Emma watson taking time out of her day to edit a black square so that it fits her instagram feed at age THIRTY but not posting a single link to donate/sign petitions just isn't sitting right." Another shared, "the fact that Emma Watson didn't say a single word about BLM till now and today she's posting three black squares with white borders to maintain her aesthetic...and she calls herself an activist. that's enough activism for today for her I guess."
One of them also noted how she hasn't said anything in the past five days and wrote, "Emma watson making sure she adds a white border to fit her instagram aesthetic for this blackout bs after having said zero things, posted zero links for petitions, donations and funds.. there's something wrong with her."
The disappointment among fans that Watson hasn't done even as much as share links to petitions or donations is clear. One fan wrote, "I’m sorry but the fact that Emma Watson claims to be an activist but hasn’t said anything about BLM is beyond disappointing. It takes less than a minute to post a petition and she hasn’t even done that much."
One follower spoke about how fans slamming Watson are hypocrites for trying to curb her freedom of expression and wrote, "Guys are you grazy? You are fighting for equality and freedom yet you decided you can dictate Emma Watson what she should and shouldn't post. Are you f****** serious right now? Bruh."
One fan pointed out that Watson is an ally who has done great work in the past and wrote, "If Emma Watson hasn’t spoken now it doesn’t mean that she isn’t an activist. She did a lot of charity in her life for who needed it You have no right to attack her, both she and Tom Felton have shown that they are amazing, so do an examination of conscience."
Even as many call her out for inaction, few fans have shown support for the actor. One such fan shared, "I will not tolerate Emma Watson slander on my timeline. She has always been for human rights with a focus on feminism. She’s staying in her lane and simply saying: LISTEN TO BLACK PEOPLE #amplifyBlackvoices."
After those posts went viral, many fans were angry over the lack of awareness about her work in the past. "Y’all really need to educate yourselves. Emma has ALWAYS used her platform to uplift African Americans and minorities. She has been all over the world spreading awareness, can any other celeb say that they have? Emma has been doing this before it was a “trend.” #EmmaWatson," one posted. Another wrote, "Emma Watson has always been against racism, even if she didn't say anything, doesn't mean that she agrees with all of these things. You are all wasting your time, it's so stupid! Look at you, hating on someone because she posted black squares?! Shame one you!! #emmawatson."
"Emma's first post on the BLM was in 2015 and she's been advocating for equality ever since... But y'all need to be mad at something as if everything that's going on isn't enough," one said and another wrote, "Exactly. And who knows? She’s probably donated to organizations this past week. she doesn’t have to post on her story about anything. She’s done more than so many of the ppl 'canceling' her."
Disappointed over the cancel culture, one said, "Can we have a day we don't criticize or call somebody out for something we don't like? Geesh," and another wrote, "Harassing people is not activism." One even went on to say, "You can't expect Emma - or any celebrity - to pay millions of dollars, and solve problems that are hundreds of years old. It will take social change - real social change, to do that ... Not money."
"She’s been sharing information for years. I don’t understand how she’s one of the few celebs to actively involve herself in being an ally yet, you turn a blind eye to celebs that have said nothing at all for years," one said and another wrote, "Right? I thought this was exactly what white people are supposed to do today so black voice could be heard instead." One fan posted, "I'm so proud of Emma Watson. She's not fueling the money laundering happening with these 'foundations' and programs."
With the outrage and protests on social media, many Twitter users are going for the cancel culture on celebrities just for the sake of it, but is it justified?