The actress urged "white celebrities" to open a dialogue with fans who use "racist rhetoric."
Amanda Seales criticized Justin Timberlake for turning off his Instagram comments after he posted about Ahmaud Arbery, suggesting he did so to avoid racist backlash from his fans.
The "Insecure" actress and "The Real" host took to her own Instagram on Thursday night to put a spotlight on "white celebrities" who have voiced their support for justice for Arbery, the Black jogger who was chased down by two white men in Georgia and fatally shot in what many consider a hate crime.
"Dedicated to @justintimberlake and the white artists showing 'solidarity' posting about #ahmaudarbery but closing their comments/IG replies," she captioned the video. "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."
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In the 3-minute clip she shared, Seales laid down a song asking white celebrities to engage with the racist online users, as she opened with, "This goes out to all those white celebrities. You see I turned off my comments 'cause I got tired of arguing with racists. But you know what -- it's your turn."
"It's time for you to see/Who's been following you. They gonna show ya, show ya true colors/Confederate Karen and her husband, red-faced Ken."
Seales said it's not enough for a white celebrity to post a "jpeg" with comments closed when Black celebrities face the racist comments "on the daily."
"Scroll through and tell me what you see/Ha! A whole lot of racists, a whole lot of privilege."
Stars Call for Justice for Ahmaud Arbery After He Was Shot Down While Jogging
View StoryShe then added, "Saying I don't see color, over and over and over again/It's the bitter smell of strange fruit in the air, yeah yeah yeah," referring to the song "Strange Fruit," which protested lynching in the early 20th century.
Seales implored her target audience to open a dialogue with their racist fans and tell them that they are indirectly supporting Black people, as she appears to suggest Timberlake and other white entertainers are appropriating aspects of Black culture.
"Talk to 'em. let 'em know, 'You all on some bulls--t out here'/'You buy my album but you not even realizing I'm doing Black music and I'm saying Black things.'"
"Turn 'em on, if you're really about it."
Seales found herself getting support for the post as Olivia Munn liked it and Yvette Nicole Brown wrote, "That’s right! Turn ‘em ON!!! Sidebar: You gon’ have a whole Teddy P instrumental just laying around during the pandemic?! I stan!"
TooFab has contacted a rep for Justin Timberlake regarding Seales' post.
The night Seales posted the clip, Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested and now face charges of murder and aggravated assault in Arbery's death.
Arbury was 25 when he was killed in Glynn County on February 25.
Meanwhile, Lizzo used her platform to speak on racial injustice after the Arbury tragedy went viral as well -- and commended white allies -- on Thursday night.
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She captioned a video clip of herself on Instagram, "A heartbreaking system. A call for allyship. I haven’t spoken on politics online in awhile because it feels like screaming into a void. But I think while we are changing as a nation we should be paying attention and making positive change. Love y’all."
During the monologue, the Grammy-winning artist said, "We always talk about how the system is broken, well, it's not broken -- the system is actually working in favor of white supremacy."
"This is an outright slow genocide since the 1860s," she continued. "Seeing the activism that is happening is incredible to me. Seeing white allies, seeing privileged allies is even more incredible."
"I love everybody. I just feel like, Black people, I wanted to lift you up right now because we have to continue to watch these tragedies in real time to people who look like us. It is heartbreaking."
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