Dwayne Johnson is the latest celebrity to get involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
On Thursday, he posted a powerful speech on Twitter, following the tragic death of George Floyd’s death.
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While celeb involvement has backfired for some — Lea Michele landed herself in hot water and the reception to Kacey Musgraves has been lukewarm — there’s been lots of praise for The Rock.
Dwayne Johnson has a lot to say.
Just after midnight on Thursday, the actor took to Twitter to share an eight-minute clip of his thoughts on the current state of America.
More specifically, he called for a “compassionate leader” to help “America rise.”
This follows the protests that have been taking place across the country following the death of George Floyd.
He was a black security guard who was tragically killed when officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes.
All four officers involved have since been charged .
“Where are you? Where is our leader?” Johnson began in the video.
This is the powerful question he repeatedly asks throughout the rest of the video.
“Where is our leader at this time when our country is down on its knees?”
“Begging, pleading, hurt, angry, frustrated, in pain, begging and pleading with its arms out, just wanting to be heard?” Johnson said.
“Where is our compassionate leader who’s going to step up to our country who’s down on its knees, and extend a hand and say, ‘You stand up, stand up with me, stand up with me because I got you. I hear you, I’m listening to you.”
He continued:
“And you have my word that I’m going to do everything in my power, until my dying day, my last breath, to do everything I can to create the change that is needed, to normalize equality because Black lives matter.’ Where are you?”
While Johnson never named President Donald Trump in the video, his message was pretty clear.
Last week, the President was criticized for spending time in a bunker when protests were going on outside the White House.
However, he later told Fox News host, Brian Kilmeade, that he was only there to inspect it.
“I was there for a tiny, short little period of time,” he said.
He then added that he visited the bunker “two or three times, all for inspection.”
Regardless, the move was highly criticized, as Johnson alluded to in his video.
“Where are you?” he asked again.
“Because here’s what happens when you extend a hand and you reach out to Americans who are in pain and they stand with you. Here’s what happens: the entire country stands and rises as well.”
The *Jumanji* actor referenced former president Barack Obama and how he’s been addressing the nation.
“It’s that same compassionate leader who has to come back and readdress the country, to give important context, to give important perspective on the comments that were just made.”
He then stressed that all lives matter.
“We must become the leaders we are looking for. I’ll ask it one more time: Where are you? Where is that compassionate leader who steps up and takes accountability for his country and all the people in our country?” Johnson said later.
He concluded his video with this: “You guys stay strong. We got this.”
Ever since the actor posted his powerful message, fans have been rallying behind the star online.
They’ve done so with words of praise and encouragement.
“This is raw, this is honest, and this is straight from the heart. Change is coming; we must all become the leaders we are looking for,” tweeted one user.
In order to get that change, some even called upon Dwayne for President:
“#DwayneJohnson2020. Pick America up from Rock Bottom,” another added.
Since many stand behind the Rock’s message, they shared videos of protests taking place around the world:
This peaceful protest took place in Calgary, Canada.
Another user shared a peaceful protest taking place in New York.
While many loved Johnson’s speech, some were worried that his message will fall on deaf’s ears:
Some even criticized the star for going political in the first place.
One wrote : “I will never buy nor watch another movie with you in it.”
You can watch Dwayne’s full video here:
What do you think of what The Rock said in the video? Are you for or against celebs getting involved in politics?
Be sure to let us know in the comments!
