Can celebrities really manifest their dream roles through style choices?
The actress kicks off the two-minute "I Take Responsibility" video of white celebrities speaking seriously into the dramatic black and white camera. The campaign website gets users to take responsibility for a specific racist behavior they’ve had before.
Many Twitter commenters felt Aaron Paul was in character as Jesse Pinkman from 'Breaking Bad' and expected to hear him say, "B—ch!" at the end of the video.
The actor spoke with very long, dramatic pauses in the video. "What are they auditioning for," one Twitter user asked, to which someone responded, "Ending Racism: The Musical."
As the actor said his piece in the video, his eyes were obviously moving from one side to another, and he was quickly called out for reading his very few lines.
Just as the backlash toward her COVID-19 responses were simmering, Madonna posted a video of her son, whom she adopted from Malawi in 2006, dancing to Michael Jackson's 'They Don't Really Care About Us' to "honor" Floyd and his family.
He later clarified that he had actually donated US$20,500, and he also apologized for having previously criticized looting, saying, "I apologize that it seemed like my concern for those stores outweighed my concern for our right to protest injustice and express our anger and rage in this moment."
Celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, and Kylie Jenner participated in posting a Black Lives Matter chain on their Instagram stories following Floyd's death. With each repost, they each tagged 10 of their friends who would continue the chain.
The designer was trolled online after posting a photo of his donation of US$50 to bail funds. People pointed out that $50 wouldn't buy a pair of his Off-White brand socks.
The rapper appeared on TV, along with Killer Mike and the mayor of Atlanta, to condemn the violence and looting occurring in the city. "We can't do this here, this is Wakanda. It must be protected," he said, and almost immediately faced backlash for comparing a real-life city to a fictional utopia.
In since-deleted tweets, the TV host wrote, "People of color in this country have faced injustice for far too long. For things to change, things must change." The last sentence was ridiculed for syntax as well as the fact that her posts were extremely vague and didn't indicate any change of her own, as well as the way she avoided saying Black people specifically.
The actor shared a "very strong opinion" with his followers about how Black people "need to learn how to deal with police... and or racism," and faced immense backlash for blaming Black people for their unjust deaths.
The entire Blackout Tuesday idea was criticized for being performative, but the actress received extra backlash for editing the black squares to match her Instagram grid aesthetic by adding a thin white border. Watson also hadn't linked to any additional resources or shown any donation receipts.
Watching the protests in Santa Monica, Pratt wrote in a since-deleted tweet, "Shoot the looters." She was not only criticized for the tone-deaf language, but also for her hypocrisy as she was arrested on charges of second-degree theft after shoplifting US$1,300 worth of clothing from a Neiman Marcus store in 2006.
The stylist and TV personality, also known as Meghan Markle's now-ex best friend, has come under fire (and was fired) after she threatened a Black blogger Sasha Exeter with a lawsuit following Exeter's generic call-to-action video about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Though Exeter didn't name anyone in her video, Mulroney assumed it was about her and proceeded to threaten Exeter's livelihood. Exeter then made another video explaining how this is a perfect example of white privilege, and people are likening Mulroney's response to that of Amy Cooper.
Ware elaborated in a Variety article, saying that Michele even threatened her job. In follow-up statement, Michele responded, "Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times, or whether it was just my immaturity and me being unnecessarily difficult, I apologize for my behavior." This verbal backflip was subsequently criticized as well.
Lea Michele's 'Glee' co-star Samantha Ware responded to her tweet about justice for George Floyd, claiming that the star had threatened to "s—t in her wig" and incited a series of "traumatic microaggressions" while they worked together.
The actor was criticized after he retweeted a video of a police officer violently tackling a protester in which the man recording the video says "I can watch these piece of s—t looters get tackled all day!!" He apologized and said he "unknowingly retweeted" the video.
In 2017, the cosmetics brand dropped transgender model Munroe Bergdorf from their campaign after she spoke out about racism and white supremacy. In this year's BLM momentum, the company stated their solidarity and actually posted a photo that said, "Speaking out is worth it."
After facing backlash, they did a 180 and said employees can wear BLM shirts, and also announced they were making their own. This stirred more criticism from those wondering why a company of Starbucks' magnitude is making T-shirts instead of spending that time and money supporting its own Black employees or donating directly to the cause.
The Urban Outfitters-owned store Anthropologie has been accused by multiple employees and shoppers across North America of racially profiling Black shoppers and using codenames. They've denied the allegations, but lost customers.
The "ethical" and "responsible" clothing brand's founder Yael Aflalo resigned as CEO after accusations of racism by a dozen former employees alleging incidents of mistreatment, disparities in workplace conditions, and being overlooked for opportunities of advancement because they were Black.
Editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned from the magazine shortly after an image of him in brownface and a stereotypical Puerto Rican costume surfaced on social media, followed by allegations of racism and a toxic workplace environment that involved not paying racialized editors for their appearances while paying their white colleagues.
Many have come forward with accounts of racial inequality at Vogue, including her former right-hand-man André Leon Talley, who revealed how hard it was to work there as a Black person even as editor-at-large. Wintour reportedly refuses to resign, but critics hold her accountable for Vogue's failures, and people want more than a vague promise to do better.
After they were heavily criticized for how they treated Bergdorf, the new president of the company contacted her and they agreed to not only make sizeable donations to LGBTQ organizations, but also offered her a consultancy role on their UK Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board.
The 'Vanderpump Rules' stars were fired after a Black former cast member, Faith Stowers, revealed that they had called the police on her for a crime they knew she didn't commit. And that's on top of various racially insensitive posts that have surfaced from their pasts.
The actor's tweet on June 30 started out fine as he said all children of God are his family, but he ended it with "We must ensure #blacklivesmatter doesn't morph into #blacklivesbetter." The daughter of Martin Luther King Jr replied, among many others, saying, "We're so far from that bridge, Terry."
In a now-deleted tweet, the 'Riverdale' actress posted a topless photo of herself reportedly to bring awareness to the unjust killing of Breonna Taylor. She soon apologized for the "tone deaf" tweet.
George Floyd's death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis sparked a renewed fire in the Black Lives Matter movement around the world, with an emphasis placed on individual accountability and a general feeling of "enough is enough."
While some celebrities and companies have used their platforms to properly address racial inequality, many others have really missed the mark and are paying for it.
For example, the major streaming service Hulu has recently been exposed for their lack of diversity following the cancellation of their show ‘High Fidelity’ before its second season. Star of the show Zoë Kravitz, who retold the old story in a female perspective, posted a photo saying farewell. Various celebrities commented with their sadness, including Tessa Thompson who wrote that she’ll miss the show. Kravitz then wrote back a not-so-subtle clapback to the streaming service: “It’s cool. at least hulu has a ton of other shows starring women of color we can watch. oh wait."
A stream of fans celebrated her response, which seems to be the growing reaction to these public call-outs regarding racial justice.
Click through this gallery to see which big names, from celebrities to companies, have come under fire.
Hulu and other big names hit with backlash amid Black Lives Matter movement
Zoë Kravitz publicly put Hulu on blast
CELEBRITY Scandal
George Floyd's death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis sparked a renewed fire in the Black Lives Matter movement around the world, with an emphasis placed on individual accountability and a general feeling of "enough is enough."
While some celebrities and companies have used their platforms to properly address racial inequality, many others have really missed the mark and are paying for it.
For example, the major streaming service Hulu has recently been exposed for their lack of diversity following the cancellation of their show ‘High Fidelity’ before its second season. Star of the show Zoë Kravitz, who retold the old story in a female perspective, posted a photo saying farewell. Various celebrities commented with their sadness, including Tessa Thompson who wrote that she’ll miss the show. Kravitz then wrote back a not-so-subtle clapback to the streaming service: “It’s cool. at least hulu has a ton of other shows starring women of color we can watch. oh wait."
A stream of fans celebrated her response, which seems to be the growing reaction to these public call-outs regarding racial justice.
Click through this gallery to see which big names, from celebrities to companies, have come under fire.