Lady Gaga says Trump is a 'racist fool' who is fueling a system that led to George Floyd's death
Lady Gaga has spoken out against the death of George Floyd. The death of the 46-year-old African-American man, who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis Police officer knelt on his neck for around 8 minutes, has triggered protests across the US. Gaga became the latest celebrity to express her outrage over Floyd’s death as she slammed President Donald Trump by calling him a “fool” and a “racist”.
“We have known for a long time that President Trump has failed. He holds the most powerful office in the world, yet offers nothing but ignorance and prejudice while black lives continue to be taken. We have known he is a fool and a racist since he took office. Is fueling a system that is already rooted in racism, and racist activity, and we can all see what is happening. It's time for change,” the pop star wrote on Instagram. The 34-year-old began her lengthy social media post with a caveat, saying she had “a lot of things to stay" about the Floyd tragedy, but did not want to "incite further anger.”
“The first thing I want to say is I'm afraid to say anything that will incite further anger, although that is precisely the emotion that's justified. I do not wish to contribute to more violence, I wish to contribute to a solution,” Gaga said, adding: “I am as outraged by the death of George Floyd as I have been by the deaths of exponentially too many black lives over hundreds of years that have been from us in this country as a result of systemic racism and the corrupt systems that support it.”
The ‘Chromatica’ singer added, “The voices of the black community have been silenced for too long and that silence has proven deadly time and time again. And no matter what they do to protest, that is still met with no compassion by the leaders that are meant to protect them. Every day people in America are racist, that's a fact.” She insisted that it’s a critical time “for the black community to be supported by all other communities we can put a stop to something that is intrinsically wrong by the grace of God or whatever creator you do or do not believe in.”
In her Instagram post, Gaga also urged people to speak “gently to each other, speak with passion, inspiration, and impress the importance of this issue until the systems that keep us sick die, instead of people we love. We MUST show our love for the black community.”
Acknowledging her privilege as a white person, the Grammy winner said: “As a white, privileged woman, I take an oath to stand by that. We haven't, as a privileged community, done enough to fight racism and stand up for those people who are being killed by it. This isn't justice. This is an epic tragedy that defines our country and has for a long time. I am sad. I am angry. And I will use the words that I can find to try to communicate what needs to change in as an effective and non-violent way as possible for me.”
