Since the passing of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has continued to press America on behalf of not only the millions of Black Americans who have fallen victim to police brutality, but also on behalf of the oppression of the entire Black community as a whole.

Part of this immense uprising revolves around the many celebrities who have begun to leverage their platforms to raise awareness for BLM. Many of them have broadcasted protests they’ve attended, inspiring messages, songs, artwork, and a plethora of other resources to combat and educate against racism.

A remixed version of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech was released by David Guetta, and Madonna shared a video of her son honoring Floyd by dancing to Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us.”

More examples include celebrities, like Seth Rogan and Chrissy Teigan, donating thousands of dollars to bail out BLM protestors.

On the other hand, certain celebrities have taken a different perspective on the movement. Many have taken to the media to give their two cents on a more All Lives Matter approach. In other words, this is the opinion that BLM either causes more racial segregation, or denies the idea that all people in society should matter.

During an Instagram livestream, rapper Lil Wayne spoke out against the BLM movement. “We have to stop placing the blame on the whole force and everybody of a certain race, everybody with a badge,” said Lil Wayne. “We have to actually get into who that person is, and if we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing.”

Lil Wayne’s response and other similar stances have been more popularly denounced because they implicitly suggest that Black people do not suffer disproportionately compared to others, especially white folks.

Other celebrities, such as the singer of “Say So” known as Doja Cat, have gained backlash for seemingly ignoring the issue altogether. Fans say to read the room, and to speak up about current events, meanwhile those like Doja continue to tweet about other random things.

Celebrities are often the first people looked to in times of controversy. Those that do not follow the common ideology are often criticized and in some cases even cancelled by the public. The collective power celebrities have is proving to bring much more attention to the issues of race in our country, creating a time of activism and passion that is even being considered the next Civil Rights movement. Thus, fans have been inspired to join in after seeing how their favorite celebrities support BLM, which is why this movement has seen such a surge unlike before.