Since the not-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman was read out on live television earlier this month, discussions about race relations, gun laws and the justice system have been constant. Protests have sprung up across the country and prominent celebrities have publicly denounced the verdict.
1. Barack Obama
The most visible and influential person to speak out has been President Obama. While he did not specifically dispute the verdict of the jury, he did compare himself to Trayvon Martin and use the court’s decision as a platform to discuss race relations and the nation’s gun policies.
2. Diddy
One tweet just didn’t say enough for Diddy. He spoke out on the subject twice, saying, “GEORGE ZIMMERMAN FOUND NOT GUILTY…#NOJUSTICENOPEACE.” In a separate tweet he wrote, “#myTruth I am blessed to have 6 beautiful kids. I’m hurt and I’m mad as hell! My heart goes out to the family. He followed him! (Expletive) That!”
3. Beyonce Knowles
The 31-year-old singer was performing a concert when news of the verdict reached her. She requested a moment of silence from her audience then sang the chorus to “I Will Always Love You.”
4. Olivia Wilde
When prominent Conservative Ann Coulter tweeted “Hallelujah!” in response to the verdict, Wilde lashed out at her. “@AnnCoulter You are a hateful wench,” she wrote.
5. Terrell Gausha
Olympic boxer and two-time U.S.A. National Champion Terrell Gausha said he was ashamed to wear his Stars-and-Stripes-themed trunks after the verdict came out. He later recanted that statement, saying that he was “shocked, disappointed and angry by the verdict” but that he would continue to wear the national colors.
6. Nicki Minaj
The pop star tweeted that taxpayers, “just paid to see a murderer walk free after killing an innocent unarmed little boy.”
7. Michael Moore
Many have raised the question of whether or not the verdict would have been different if Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman’s places had been switched. Michael Moore’s tweet the day of the jury decision showed that he clearly thinks so.
8. Richard Dreyfuss
Actor Richard Dreyfuss wrote, “It’s 2013 and an American jury just acquitted a man who admitted to stalking and killing an unarmed child.”
9. Adam Shankman
In a tweet to the “Florida injustice department” he compared the Zimmerman trial to that of O. J. Simpson. He went on to say that his heart bleeds for the family of Trayvon Martin.
10. Will.i.am
“There are black people in prison serving 10 to 20 years for petty drug crimes…and Zimmerman walks for killing a young black man???”