The 93rd Academy Awards partially turned into a rant against the police and social injustice after several celebrities spoke their minds.
Kicking off the prestigious Sunday night event, actress Regina King applauded the conviction of Derek Chauvin as she said she would trade her heels for marching boots if the trial didn’t turn out as it did.
“It has been quite a year, and we are still smack dab in the middle of it. We are mourning the loss of so many. And I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I may have traded in my heels for marching boots,” the 50-year-old said, prompting the audience to vocally agree with her comment.
She added: “Now, I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you. But as a mother of a black son, I know the fear that so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes.”
Later on during the 93rd Academy Awards, Director Travon Free went on to make a political statement as he accused the police of killing Black people “disproportionately.”
Blasting the police, the ‘Two Distant Strangers’ director said the United States police kill three people every day.
“Today, the police will kill three people. Tomorrow, the police will kill three people. And the day after that, the police will kill three people. Because on average, the police in America every day kill three people. Which amounts to about 1,000 people a year,” Free said in his acceptance speech.
“Those people happen to be disproportionately black people. I just ask that you please not be indifferent. Please don’t be indifferent to our pain.”
Earlier on Sunday, Free also showed off his new blazer as he walked down the red carpet. As seen in the photos, the insides of the blazer were covered in names of Black people – including Daunte Wright, Rayshard Brooks, and Tamir Rice among others – killed by police officers.
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