Emma Watson slammed for posting ‘just three black squares’ and not sharing Black Lives Matter information
FANS of Emma Watson have accused her of prioritizing her Instagram aesthetic over showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement in a recent post.
The actress, who has since broken her silence in light of the furor, joined millions yesterday to post a black square on Instagram in a showing of support for "#BlackoutTuesday."
The 24-hour social media initiative was to highlight the fight against racial inequality, injustice and police violence in response to the death of in Minneapolis on May 25.
Yet, the 30-year-old sparked backlash among fans after she posted three black squares, which were edited to have a white border around it to match her current Instagram aesthetic.
Her post went viral on Twitter with many accusing her of prioritizing her Instagram aesthetic and for not attaching relevant information of how her 57.2million followers could either donate, educate themselves or sign petitions.
One wrote: " claims to be an activist but instead of posting links to petitions, donations and opening her purse she got 1 million likes on a pic of a black square with a white border around it to maintain her Instagram aesthetic."
"Emma Watson really posted three other blank black pics so it wouldn't ruin her aesthetic," another penned.
A third posted: "Emma Watson not saying anything for the whole week and then posting a black blank pic on Instagram that won't help in anything is just the peak of white feminism."
Another shared: "Emma Watson has 57.1M followers on Instagram, her first post about BML has over 1M likes and instead of sharing links to petitions and donations, she thought the best idea was sharing three black squares?
"Wtf is that, open your purse, SPREAD INFORMATION."
Since the furor, the Harry Potter star broke her silence at midnight to tell her millions of follower that "I stand with you" and uploaded a piece of artwork by Dr. Fahamu Pecou entitled White Lies, Subtleties, Micro-Aggressions, and Other Choking Hazards.
Speaking about tackling "structural and institutional racism", she wrote: "I was holding off posting until #blackouttuesday ended in the UK,' and shared a poem written by Dr. Fahamu called Broken Open from Black Matter Lives.
Acknowledging the backlash, Emma then shared a post about the action she would be taking and wrote: "There is so much racism, both in our past and present, that is not acknowledged nor accounted for.
"White supremacy is one of the systems of hierarchy and dominance, of exploitation and oppression, that is tightly stitched into society.
Adding: "As a white person, I have benefited from this.
"Whilst we might feel that, as individuals, we're working hard internally to be anti-racist, we need to work harder externally to actively take the structural and institutional racism around us.
"I'm still learning about the many ways I unconsciously support and uphold a system that is structurally racist," she continued.
"Over the coming days, I’ll be using my bio link and Twitter to share links to resources I’ve found useful for my own researching, learning, listening…
"I see your anger, sadness and pain. I cannot know what this feels like for you but it doesn’t mean I won't try to."
In light of her impassioned post, her followers commented in their droves and thanked her for sharing information about the cause.
One fan shared: "It’s about sharing stuff that helps the movement, posting art by black artists, books, etc., and refraining from posting personal photos and usual content. #amplifymelanatedvoices".
"Everyone apologize to Emma," another follower penned.
Aside from her successful acting career, Emma was appointed UN Women Goodwill ambassador in 2014 and delivered an impassioned speech that same year at the UN Headquarters calling for men to advocate for gender equality as part of the UN's campaign HeForShe.
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There have been protests across the country since video footage in Minneapolis last week showed white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on George Floyd's neck.
The former truck driver came under arrest after a deli employee called 911 and accused him of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
The 46-year-old died moments later after telling the arresting officers Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, that he couldn't breathe.