George Floyd: Taylor Swift leads celebrity protests following violent night in Minnesota

Taylor Swift has condemned U.S. leader Donald Trump for threatening violence in the wake of anti-police brutality protests in Minnesota.

Activists first took to the streets on Tuesday to demand action following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, and as the protests became increasingly violent, one city police station was set ablaze on Thursday, prompting Trump to take aim at the demonstrations.

“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” he tweeted. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

Swift was appalled by the President’s rhetoric and on Friday morning she fired back: “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’???
“We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump.”

Cardi B, meanwhile, has uploaded a number of videos defending the protests and property damage happening in Minneapolis.

In one, she said, “At this point, I’m not against it, even though it do scare me (sic), and I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

And Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong shared a quote attributed to Will Smith: “Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed.”

Video footage captured Floyd struggling to breathe during his heavy-handed arrest as a cop kneeled on his neck. He fell unconscious at the scene and was pronounced dead at a nearby medical centre. Musicnews