Actor Jamie Foxx called for change during a speech at a protest honoring the life of George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody.
Foxx emphasized the need for a “deterrent” to police brutality while at San Francisco’s City Hall on Monday, according to a report published by Entertainment Tonight.
Jamie Foxx: “If that man can be handcuffed, if that man sit on that man’s neck for that long and feel comfortable about it, that means that he’s not afraid of what’s going to happen.”
“They have to be worried that ‘I could go to jail for this.'” https://t.co/s5uDBXwHyA pic.twitter.com/6Lxucsjtrz
— ABC News (@ABC) June 1, 2020
“You can’t sit back, you can’t tweet, you can’t text, you gotta get out here,” Foxx said. “We have to make sure change can come when it comes to police brutality. There has to be a deterrent. If that man can be handcuffed, if that man [Derek Chauvin] can sit on that man’s [Floyd’s] neck for that long and feel comfortable about it, that means that he’s not afraid of what’s going to happen.”
“We have to change the language,” he continued. “They have to be worried that, ‘I could go to jail for this,’ they have to respect us. They have to love us.”
Foxx also took time to address his celebrity friends. (RELATED: Here Are The Celebrities Who Joined Protests Over George Floyd’s Death)
“What I want to say to my Hollywood friends is, you got to get out here,” Foxx said. “You can’t tweet. You can’t text…You have to understand, people are hurting.”
As previously reported, Floyd died while in custody of the Minnesota Police Department. Video footage filmed by bystanders shows now-former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for roughly nine minutes. His death sparked protests and riots across the country over the past week.
Chauvin has since been fired and charged with murder in the 3rd degree and manslaughter.