Amanda Seales has taken issue with the way some white celebrities, like Justin Timberlake, are publicly speaking out about the murder case of Ahmaud Arbery. The comedienne and ‘The Real’ talk show co-host took to Instagram to call out Caucasian celebrities who have turned off their comments in the wake of the public outcry for justice in the case of the murder.
Ahmaud Arbery, an African-American man, was just 25-years-old when he was murdered while out on jogging in a residential area just outside of Brunswick, Georgia. He was allegedly gunned down by father-and-son Gregory and Travis McMichael, who were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault Thursday (May 7).
Since a graphic video of the killing recently surfaced online, increasing interest in the case, a call to action has been sounding off around social media platforms. Everyday people and celebrities alike have been posting about the slain Arbery using the hashtag #IRunWithMaud to encourage people to run, walk, or jog 2.23 miles Friday (May 8) on what would have been his 26th birthday. The distance commemorates the date Arbery was killed, February 23. However, it appears that some white celebrities who have posted about Ahmaud Arbery including singer Justin Timberlake, have disabled their comments.
“If you’re not outraged, you should be. Justice for #AhmaudArbery.”
Amanda Seales, known to speak out on all sorts of controversial topics, took a different approach to bring attention to this. Seales used an instrumental track of the Teddy Pendergrass hit “Turn Off The Lights” to sing her frustrations instead of speaking on them. She starts the video speaking over the track saying:
“This goes out to all the white celebrities…ya see I turned off my comments because I got tired of arguing with racists. But you know what? It’s your turn.”
She also captioned the video:
“Turn On the Comments
Dedicated to @justintimberlake and the white artists showing “solidarity” posting about #ahmaudarbery but closing their comments/IG replies. Ain’t no half steppin. This is how you ally. You get in the weeds with your fans who are also fans of racist rhetoric. #TURNEMON
