Chris Rock, Other Celebs React Online to Ferguson Verdict
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Douglas Gorenstein/NBC(NEW YORK) — Celebrities expressed sadness, frustration and disappointment across social media Monday after a grand jury in Missouri declined to bring charges against police officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown.
Here are just some of the reactions:
Basketball star LeBron James used the opportunity to harken back to the 2012 shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, posting an editorial cartoon on Instagram of Martin and Brown walking together with their arms draped across each other’s shoulders.
“As a society how do we do better and stop things like this happening time after time!!” James wrote. “I’m so sorry to these families. Violence is not the answer people. Retaliation isn’t the solution as well. #PrayersUpToTheFamilies #WeHaveToDoBetter”
Grammy-winner Pharrell Williams tweeted, “I’m heartbroken over the news of no indictment in Ferguson. Let’s all pray for peace.”
Sleepy Hollow star Orlando Jones echoed the sentiment, and also suggested, “#NoJusticeNoProfit Maybe it’s time to redefine Black Friday & flip the script on how & where we spend our dollars. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Like many, Cher disagreed with the grand jury’s decision, but also spoke out against the protests that followed.
“Violence is NOT the ANSWER!,” she tweeted. “VOTE 2Change State Laws.There Must b Change in Attitude & BALANCE In Police & Lawmakers!”
Chris Rock was among the most vocal in reacting online to the Ferguson verdict, tweeting numerous responses to the grand jury announcement, including, “Doesn’t take 100 days to decide if murder is a crime, it takes 100 days to figure out how to tell people it isn’t……” He also added, “now everybody after all this is over make sure to tweet about it for 3 days and then forget it ever happened like we do every time.”
His tweets continued Tuesday morning, including one that included a video of orderly Ferguson protesters, with the caption, “Peaceful protesters didn’t make it to television.”
A few minutes later, Rock tweeted, “Pretty good morning so far. Bumped into a cop in line at Starbucks and didn’t get shot six times. #Ferguson.”
In response to the flurry of opposing tweets that followed, Rock added just six minutes later, “Following someone on Twitter and complaining about what they tweet about is like calling someone to tell them you don’t want to talk to them.”
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