YouTuber Logan Paul has spoken out about his “white privilege” following the tragic death of George Floyd.
“Listen closely. One of my biggest learnings from all of this and I am embarrassed that it has taken me 25 years to realize this: It is not enough to be ‘not racist.’ You have to be anti-racist,” the influencer said in the latest episode of his “Impaulsive” podcast. “Condemn those who feign superiority because of the color of their skin. Friends — hold friends accountable. Hold your family accountable. Hold yourself accountable. And most importantly, we must hold our authorities accountable — police officers, politicians, policymakers. Bully the politicians at the voting booth. Make your voice heard. Attend a protest. Speak up against injustice. If you’re white, if you look like me, use your privilege. And for those who do not think that white privilege exists, you are f**king blind. You are delusional and you are part of the problem.”
As fans know, George — a 46-year-old, unarmed black man — died in Minneapolis, MN, on May 25, 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 second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while fellow officers Thomas K. Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng — who were also present at the time of the incident — were charged with aiding and abetting murder.
“I can count on zero hands the amount of times that I have feared for my life at a routine traffic stop. That has never happened. Half of the reason I’m able to get away with some of my hooligan s**t I do in my vlogs is because I’m a white kid. I’m confident that I do not have to fear for my life should the cops show up. Acknowledge and weaponize your privilege,” Logan continued. “Knowing all this about America — its racially charged background, its inability to truly treat humans as equals even after 244 years since its inception — we must now work towards finding the solution. If you are an influencer or celebrity friend of mine, I hope you are using your platform to continue to spread the message of solidarity and unity. I do not have all the answers, but I know we must now reverse-engineer the system as a collective. We must open our eyes and realize that there is only one race and that is the human race.”
Many stars, including the 25-year-old and his girlfriend, Josie Canseco, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Madison Beer, Ross Lynch, Jaz Sinclair, Timothée Chalamet, Lauren Jauregui, Harry Styles, Cole Sprouse, Halsey, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and tons more have taken to the streets to protest amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
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