Blackout Tuesday: Cardi B, Demi Lovato, More Celebrities Participate

Showing their support. Celebrities like Cardi B, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears and more participated in the #BlackoutTuesday movement on social media in support of Black Lives Matter in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

#BlackoutTuesday, also referred to as #TheShowMustBePaused, was started by two music executives, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, who are black women. In a statement on their website, the movement is in response to the deaths of “countless other black citizens at the hands of police.”

Thomas and Agyemang went on to explain they’ve each observed “long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the board room to the boulevard We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for black lives.”

“Tuesday, June 2, is meant to intentionally disrupt the workweek,” the statement continued. “Monday suggests a long weekend, and we can’t wait until Friday for a change. It is easy to take a bit for an honest, reflective and productive conversation about what actions we need to collectively take to support the black community.”

The executives went on to explain that #BlackoutTuesday is just the first initiative and they will announce a plan of action once the day is observed.

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The social media movement comes amid ongoing protests in various cities across the country in support of Black Lives Matter that demand #JusticeForGeorge Floyd. The Minneapolis man, 46, died while being arrested on May 25. In video footage recorded by bystanders, Floyd could be seen on the ground being arrested while officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck. Floyd could be heard repeatedly saying, “Please, the knee in my neck, I can’t breathe.” Floyd died on camera after Chauvin, 44. kept his knee on his neck for a total of eight minutes and 46 seconds.

One day after Floyd’s death, the Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and the three other arresting officers after the FBI launched an investigation. Chauvin was arrested three days later and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

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Floyd was just one of three members of the black community in the United States who have died during encounters with police this year. In March, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was shot at least eight times after Louisville police, who had a search warrant, used a battering ram to crash into her apartment, according to the New York Times. Two months after her death, the officers involved have not been fired.

Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old former high school football player, was running in the South Georgia neighborhood of Satilla Shore when he pursued by a white man named Gregory McMichael, and his son, Travis McMichael, in February. The residents chased Arbery in their pickup truck with a .357 Magnum handgun and a shotgun, according to the police report obtained by the NYT. After they tried to cut Arbery off, they were involved in a confrontation with Abery. Two shots were fired and Arbery died at the scene after “bleeding out.” It took four months for Gregory and Travis to be arrested. They were charged with murder and aggravated assault in association with Arbery’s death. The two men are due in court on June 4, according to ABC News.

Scroll through the gallery below to see all of the celebrities who are participating in #BlackoutTuesday.

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Katy Perry

“I try to live my life to answer the question, ‘How can I be of service?’ I have spent the last few days watching, listening and reflecting about how to utilize my privilege and platform. I hope that #BlackoutTuesday gives us all (especially in the music industry) an opportunity to take what we’re learning and put it into action on Wednesday, and every day going forward,” the “Daisies” singer wrote.

“There are many ways to support the movement towards justice and equality. I’ve chosen to donate to the organizations tagged in this post. You can do the same at the link in my bio,” she continued. “This soon to be mother is going to work hard to make damn sure this world is a more just place for every child. #BlackLivesMatter.”

Britney Spears

“What the world needs now is love … [globe showing Americas emoji] [broken heart emoji]. My heart breaks for my friends in the black community … and for everything going on in our country,” the “Toxic” singer wrote.

“Right now I think we all should do what we can to listen … learn … do better … and use our voices for good. To start I will be participating in #BlackoutTuesday tomorrow … I won’t be posting on social media and I ask you all to do the same,” she continued. “We should use the time away from our devices to focus on what we can do to make the world a better place … for ALL of us!!!!! PS: if you’d like to help … text FLOYD to 55156 and donate to organizations like #BlackLivesMatter if you are able to. God Bless You ALL!!!! #TheShowMustBePaused.”

Tanner Tolbert

“I’m a 33-year-old white male … who has had a pretty easy life and tends to think pretty conservatively most of the time. And to be honest I wasn’t sure if I should post this or not … In fact, I probably wouldn’t have a week ago,” the Bachelor Nation alum explained in the caption of his black square post.

“When I first heard the phrase #blacklivesmatter my first thought was, ‘Wait, all lives matter,’ and while yes, that is correct … I have learned a lot this week … by listening. I’m muting all of my social media this week so we can all focus on some different content this week. And hopefully, like I did, we can learn something. And hopefully what we all learn will lead to a better tomorrow. #united #notdivided.”

Demi Lovato

“#blackouttuesday [black heart emoji],” the “I Love Me” singer captioned her post. She also shared a message to educate others about why they shouldn’t use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in their posts.

“(Please use this hashtag and not the BLM hashtag so that we keep information easily accessible otherwise tons of black boxes will drown the news feed),” she added.