Terry Crews has placed himself in the middle of a firestorm on Black Twitter for the second time this year after sending a message about the current movement to end police abuse against African-Americans.
His tweet comes while people are protesting police brutality and racial discrimination, while demanding justice for George Floyd, a Black man who died on Memorial after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Crews first addressed Floyd’s death a few days after it happened and said he was truly heartbroken about it. He received positive feedback for his message, but that was much different than the reactions people left under the tweet he sent on Sunday about fighting white supremacy.
“Defeating White supremacy without White people creates Black supremacy,” tweeted Crews. “Equality is the truth. Like it or not, we are all in this together.”
He was slammed for his message in a variety of ways once it spread. Some people posted memes and others criticized him with words.
“I saw a tweet yesterday where someone said that every time Terry crews tweets, it’s a disaster. I see what they mean now,” someone tweeted.
Some famous people including writer and activist Kevin Powell also jumped in.
“This makes absolutely no sense, makes very Black self-hating assumption that Black folks would actually try to do harm to White people in major ways, when there is no proof in history of any such behavior even remotely close to White supremacist behavior,” Powell tweeted. “Please read books, sir.”
Comedian Godrey also responded to Crews’ tweet, “I love you as a friend Brother Terry. But I disagree with you 100 %. No such thing as Black Supremacy. That is a tactic that Racist whites use to counteract our rebellion to their horrific treatment of us. It’s called Gas lighting. Black pride isn’t anti white.”
But some shared a different point of view saying they were “bored” of white supremacy and ready for something new.
“look can we try black supremacy for a couple of centuries just to switch it up I’m so bored,” wrote one user.
Others recalled the last time Crews was slammed online, which happened after Gabrielle Union was dropped from “America’s Got Talent” last year as a judge.
Union’s contract wasn’t renewed at the end of the show’s 14th season after she reportedly made complaints about racism and sexism on the set.
She reportedly filed a discrimination complaint against show creator Simon Cowell, NBC, and other people associated with the talent competition just last week.
Crews didn’t back Union’s claims — which she did not make herself, as they came from unidentified source in the Variety magazine article that first reported the allegations — when he was asked about them during an interview and was slammed on Black Twitter as a result, especially since Union supported Crews when he accused former Hollywood talent agent Adam Venit of groping him at an industry event.
“First of all, I can’t speak for sexism because I’m not a woman, but I can speak on behalf of any racism comments,” said Crews when asked about Union’s claims on “The 3rd Hour of Today.” “That was never my experience. … In fact, it was the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment.”
“You showed us time & time again that you weren’t s–t, most recently with not standing by Gabrielle Union so you could keep your job. This seals the deal,” one person wrote to Crews after his Black supremacy tweet.
Crews first defended himself against the criticism, then apologized to Union shortly after the interview. He tweeted another apology to the actress last week and said he wants to be a better person.
“The murder of George Floyd has forced me to search my heart to find out what more I can do, as a human being, as a citizen, and more specifically as a Black man,” he tweeted June 4. “But I also see that I am privileged as [a] man, in a society that also has sexism built in. This privilege carries over into my community as a Black man in relationship with Black women.”
“It is in this light I want to make further amends with Black women, and in particular @itsgabrielleu for not recognizing the privilege I have – especially in the workplace- and adding this fact to my earlier apology,” he added.
