PAINFUL MEMORY
Top Boy’s Ashley Walters breaks down saying his ‘silence over George Floyd isn’t betrayal’ as white men knifed him at 15
ASHLEY Walters broke down in tears as he recalled being stabbed by a gang of white men when he was just 15 and left for dead in the street.
The Top Boy star was speaking out amid growing fury over the death of George Floyd in the US who died after a cop knelt on his neck.
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Mr Walters, 37, also blasted anyone who criticised people for not speaking out - with phrase "silence is betrayal" being used thousands of times on social media.
Outrage has been mounting over the death of , with spreading to countries such as the UK, France and Germany.
Speaking on Instagram, the actor tearfully addressed the situation as he revealed he was attacked as a teenager by a group of white men.
He said: "My point of coming on here today is no one can tell me I am complicit because I haven’t posted anything about the scenario for several reasons, but for the main one, I’ve been fighting this thing all of my f***ing career
"I’ve seen black people and big corporations posting about 'your silence is a betrayal'.
"Don’t ever f***ing tell me that my silence is a f***ing betrayal when I’ve been left for dead on the street by white men.
"Stabbed and left for dead and these people have never been brought to justice."
On the verge of tears, Mr Walters continues: "I f***ing worked hard, put my life on the line for all these f***ing men out here while this s*** has been going on.
"I said nothing, but I’m talking now. I’m talking now because I’ve had enough of this s***.
"People are being killed out here and treating us like s*** and all anyone can complain about is who’s posting about it and who is f***ing not. You don't know what I've been through."
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Mr Walters' emotional three minute video has been viewed almost 100,000 times in just five hours as he took aim at "slow and stupid" people "turning on each other at a time like this".
He challenged anyone to "look at the scar on my neck", and said "don't ever question my f***ing loyalty".
The star added: "Half of you wouldn’t be f***ing working now if I hadn’t been here doing my thing for the last how many years being bullied and held back by white people in this f***ing game."
Protesters gathered in London today and marched on the US Embassy chanting "I can't breathe" - echoing George Floyd's words before his death - as fury spread worldwide.
Mr Floyd was seen pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with a knee to the neck in a now infamous video.
The dad-of-six - described by his family as a "gentle giant" - is seen pleading that he cannot breathe and begs for the cop to get off him.
After a number of minutes, he goes limp and is carted off on a stretcher before being pronounced dead following the shocking incident on Monday.
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Four days later Chauvin was charged with murder and manslaughter as fury led to protests, clashes with police, and .
Mr Floyd's family welcomed the arrest, but had hoped for a more serious charge.
They also wanted the other three officers involved - Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng - arrested as they failed to intervene.
All four officers were fired from the force.
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Chauvin allegedly disregarded the concerns of another officer, who wanted to roll Mr Floyd onto his side, according to the criminal complaint.
The papers also said that an autopsy revealed as the cause of death - instead blaming underlying health conditions.
Mr Floyd's family are now seeking an independent autopsy, saying that the health problems cited in the official report are "an illusion".
, while video today showed as violence continues.
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Black Lives Matter protesters chant ‘I can’t breathe’ in London over death of George Floyd in US
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