Is Cole Sprouse OK?! The Riverdale star got shoved after trying to stop a physical fight from breaking out outside of a restaurant in Los Angeles, CA, on Thursday, July 16.
In a video obtained by Daily Mail, the actor could be seen trying calm down one of his male friends, and hold him back as he yelled at another man. The outlet reported that the fight broke out after Cole’s friend “accused the man of making a racist remark.”
“You’re a racist,” Cole’s friend could be heard saying throughout the footage.
As tensions started to rise, more people got involved, and at one point in the clip, a man pushed Cole back. OMG. We really hope he didn’t get hurt! After that, the video ended, so it’s unclear how the situation got resolved.
As fans know, this incident came just weeks after Cole got arrested while protesting the tragic death of George Floyd. But the 27-year-old used the situation as an attempt to raise more awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“A group of peaceful protesters, myself included, were arrested yesterday in Santa Monica. So before the voracious horde of media sensationalism decides to somehow turn it about me, there’s a clear need to speak about the circumstances: Black Lives Matter. Peace, riots, looting, are an absolutely legitimate form of protest,” he wrote on Instagram. “The media is by nature only going to show the most sensational, which only proves a long standing racist agenda.”
“I was detained when standing in solidarity, as were many of the final vanguard within Santa Monica. We were given the option to leave, and were informed that if we did not retreat, we would be arrested,” the Suite Life of Zack and Cody alum continued. “When many did turn to leave, we found another line of police officers blocking our route, at which point, they started zip tying us.”
For those who missed it, on May 25, George — a 46-year-old, unarmed black man — died in Minneapolis, MN, after a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. The white officer — Derek Chauvin — did not move even as George repeatedly said “I can’t breathe,” as heard in a video captured by bystanders. The officer has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
“It needs to be stated that as a straight white man, and a public figure, the institutional consequences of my detainment are nothing in comparison to others within the movement. This is ABSOLUTELY not a narrative about me, and I hope the media doesn’t make it such,” Cole added. “This is, and will be, a time about standing ground near others as a situation escalates, providing educated support, demonstrating and doing the right thing. This is precisely the time to contemplate what it means to stand as an ally. I hope others in my position do as well. I noticed that there are cameras that roll within the police cruisers during the entirety of our detainment, hope it helps. I’ll speak no more on the subject, as I’m (1) not well versed enough to do so, (2) not the subject of the movement, and (3) uninterested in drawing attention away from the leaders of the #BLM movement. I will be, again, posting the link in my story to a comprehensive document for donations and support.”
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