Jamie Foxx is 'not afraid to stand' in powerful message after George Floyd's dea

Jamie Foxx has spoken out in solidarity after the tragic death of George Floyd.

Floyd, a black man who was unarmed and handcuffed, died this week after being arrested.

Footage showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck, with Floyd crying out: ‘I can’t breathe.’

Chauvin has since been arrested.

Celebrities have been speaking up as the public mourns Floyd, with Jamie Foxx joining social justice advocates in Minnesota.

He said: ‘I’ve experienced this before,’ recalling his previous meeting with Sybrina, the mum of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black boy who was shot dead by police when he was unarmed last year.

He added: ‘If you guys get a chance, please find a circle of mothers. There’s 100, 200 cases like this that don’t get the visibility, don’t get the cameras and they’re strong women.

‘Sybrina right now…is running for Commissioner to try and do something different. This is the toughest time, with things like this happening.’

Jamie went on to say: ‘All I wanted to do is let you know we’re not afraid to stand. We’re not afraid to stand. We’re not afraid of the moment.’

He pointed out: ‘And I think what you saw on television, to watch this man plead for his mum, as I sit with my two daughters, my nephews, who have just come from the grocery store where there was a little thing.

‘And I said, “Hey, you gotta stop that.” So what it does, it overcomplicates everything as a black man trying to tell his son, or his daughter, how to function in life. Even the things we’ve taught them don’t seem to work.’

Jamie continued: ‘All we’re trying to do is ask questions of why. Why is it, when a person who walks into a church, sits down with the parishioners, prays with them, and then takes out a gun, and causes havoc and you apprehend them, a white guy.

‘While when it comes to us, it seems like the brute force ends up what we’re doing today.’

Describing himself as ‘not a celebrity,’ he added: ‘This means everything because, at the end of the day, when we see you guys out here on the frontline, we want you to know you’ve got support.’

Jamie finished by saying: ‘God bless George and his family, please wrap your arms around him, and to all of my friends who aren’t black, just try to put yourself in our position.’

Oprah Winfrey has also been sharing her love for George after his tragic death.

She shared an illustration of him, writing: ‘I’ve been trying to process what can be said or heard in this moment. I haven’t been able to get the image of the knee on his neck out of my head.

‘It’s there every morning when I go through the ordinary duties of the day. While pouring my coffee, lacing my shoes, and taking a breath, I think: he doesn’t get to do this.

‘And now the video from the other angle of the two officers pinning him down. My heart sinks even deeper.

‘His family and friends say he was a gentle giant. His death has now shown us he had a giant soul. If the largeness of a soul is determined by its sphere of influence, George Floyd is a Mighty Soul.

‘#GeorgeFloyd: We speak your name. But this time we will not let your name be just a hashtag. Your spirit is lifted by the cries of all of us who call for justice in your name!’

Jamie and Oprah are just two of the stars sharing heartbreaking tributes to Floyd, with the likes of Cardi B, Snoop Dogg, and Justin Bieber speaking up after his horrifying death.

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