“Never been more proud of you, John,” John Boyega’s fellow Star Wars alum Mark Hamill said on Twitter
John Boyega is not standing alone following his passionate speech in response to the killing of George Floyd while in police custody.
On Wednesday, the Star Wars actor, 28, spoke during a peaceful protest at Hyde Park in London in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, during which he got emotional discussing how racism has affected him everyday.
Boyega’s speech touched the hearts of many, including fellow celebrities who rallied behind the actor on social media.
“We got you, John,” wrote Jordan Peele in response to a tweet by The Nikki Diaries, who quoted a line that Boyega said during his speech: “Look I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this but, f— that.”
Many from the Star Wars family similarly supported Boyega, including Mark Hamill, who wrote, “Never been more proud of you, John. @JohnBoyega. dad.”
“You KNOW that as long as I’m allowed to keep working, I’ll always be begging to work with you. Deep respect and love, my friend,” said Star Wars director JJ Abrams — whose production company, Bad Robot, has partnered with the Katie McGrath and JJ Abrams Family Foundation to commit $10 million to anti-racism organizations.
The official Star Wars Twitter account also praised Boyega.”We stand with and support you, @JohnBoyega,” the account tweeted, offering a link to Boyega’s full speech.
More support for Boyega came from Olive Wilde, who tweeted, “I would be honored to work with @JohnBoyega and can only hope to have the chance. We’ve got your back, John. Don’t hold back.”
During his speech, Boyega thanked supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraged their continued activism.
“This is very important; this is very vital,” he told the demonstrators in an emotional moment, captured on-camera by the U.K. outlet the Evening Standard. “Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important, we have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless — and now is the time.”
“I ain’t waiting! I ain’t waiting!” Boyega continued as fellow protesters cheered.
The British-Nigerian actor also addressed black men specifically, saying, “We need to take care of black women.”
“They are our hearts; they are our future,” he said. “We cannot demonize our own. We are the pillars of the family. Imagine this: a nation that is set up with individual families that are thriving, that are healthy, that communicate, that raise their children they love, have a better rate of becoming better human beings. That’s what we need to create.”
Boyega similarly condemned racism last week on social media when responding to Floyd’s death. “I really f— hate racists,” he wrote on Twitter, before defending his unflinching statements saying, “This is my own personal account. I am not here for the kids.”
He later spoke out on Instagram, stressing that he wouldn’t be apologizing for standing up for himself.
“[If] you think someone like me is gonna back down, that’s very, very mad. It’s very important that we ignore ignorance, that we ignore people that come through and try to make these situations what they’re not,” Boyega said during a live video. “So I say it again, f— you racist white people. I said what I said.”
To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:
- Campaign Zero (joincampaignzero.org) which works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.
- ColorofChange.org works to make government more responsive to racial disparities.
- National Cares Mentoring Movement (caresmentoring.org) provides social and academic support to help black youth succeed in college and beyond.
Via: People
