Chelsea Handler said she wants to see “more white athletes” taking a knee as she voiced her support for players who refuse to stand for the national anthem while slamming President Donald Trump.
“I just think everybody who has a platform needs to use it right now, and people need to speak up and speak loudly, because it’s really scary what’s going on and everybody has to say something…,” the 44-year-old talk show host told Entertainment Weekly Monday about the protests on Sunday by NFL players. (RELATED: Chelsea Handler Apologizes For Trump Wherever She Goes)
DANA POINT, CA – OCTOBER 19: Chelsea Handler (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Fortune)
“That little six-month waiting period of seeing if Donald Trump is going to be able to turn this ship around and become presidential is over. It didn’t happen,” she added. “He’s demonstrated this behavior over and over and over again, and people with platforms need to speak up. Taking a Knee isn’t going anywhere. What we need is for more white people to be doing it, more white athletes.”
“[Things like] this change when the race or group of people that aren’t being affected stand up,” she continued. “The civil rights movement changed when white people spoke up for black people. Women’s rights changed when men spoke up for women. And we need to do it again, unfortunately. We constantly have to fight for the very things we fought for generations before. But every white, responsible American citizen needs to stand up and talk about how wrong this is.”
“The only silver lining is that we take back our democracy and people stand up for what they believe in,” Handler explained. “Every single person has a right to peacefully protest, period, end of story. Doesn’t matter where they are or what they’re doing.”
“I am watching football today out of respect for all these players. Good for you @Kaepernick7 for starting a movement. Black lives matter,” Handler tweeted.
I am watching football today out of respect for all these players. Good for you @Kaepernick7 for starting a movement. Black lives matter.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) September 24, 2017
“I’m watching my first day of Sunday football today, because of you, so I would assume many more are doing the same. Racist,” she added.
I’m watching my first day of Sunday football today, because of you, so I would assume many more are doing the same. Racist. https://t.co/OqQrPGu0ig
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) September 24, 2017