These Celebrities and Athletes Have Donated Money to Help Bail Out Protestors

Shea Simmons
·6 min read

From Men's Health

On May 25, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed 46-year-old George Floyd after pinning him to the ground and keeping his knee on Floyd's neck minutes after Floyd had lost consciousness. Chauvin was fired, and four days later, arrested and charged with third degree murder; the three other officers who stood by have yet to receive any criminal charges.

As a result of Floyd's death and countless others of black Americans, including Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, protests against police brutality have taken place in Minneapolis and spread to cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, and others. Celebrities and athletes are offering financial support to protestors who have been arrested to help with legal fees.

On Twitter, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have pledged $200,000 to assist organizations including The Movement for Black Lives, The National Lawyers Guild, and The Bail Project.

Former NFL player Colin Kaepernick has been outspoken in his support of ongoing demonstrations and began a defense fund, the Know Your Rights Legal Initiative, to help provide legal resources to those in need.

Lil Nas X posted a link to the Minnesota Freedom Fund on Twitter. "I am sorry for not using my platform to speak up more on the situation," he wrote in an accompanying tweet. "I honestly feel as though it has become so normalized that even I myself am numb to police brutality towards black people."

Gabrielle Union-Wade pledged her support on Twitter.

Singer Halsey took part in a protest over the weekend in Los Angeles.

Rapper Noname donated $1000 and challenged other celebrities to match the donation.

Actress and singer Janelle Monae also contributed to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

The Good Place actor and host of The Misery Index, Jameela Jamil, matched Noname's donation.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds recently pledged $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "It's the least we can do to honor not just George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner, but all the black men and women who have been killed when a camera wasn't rolling," Lively wrote in an Instagram post.

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A post shared by Blake Lively (@blakelively) on May 31, 2020 at 6:09pm PDT

Justin Timberlake has also called for a show of support for protestors.

Filmmakers Josh and Ben Safdie of Uncut Gems made a donation over the weekend.

Actor Seth Rogen matched the donation by the Safdie brothers. "Always be more critical of the people upholding the racist system than the ones who are fighting against it," he also wrote on Twitter.

Comedian Patton Oswalt matched Rogen's donation.

In recent days, Mark Ruffalo has called for donations on Twitter on behalf of protestors.

Ruffalo's MCU-co-star, Chris Evans, donated using this website of resources.

Ben Schwartz of Parks and Rec made a donation.

Don Cheadle matched Schwartz's donation. He's also called out President Trump in a series of tweets relating to the demonstrations.

Steve Carrell of The Office and now Space Force also matched Schwartz's donation.

Musicians including Harry Styles, formerly of One Direction, have also pledged their support. "Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti-racist," he wrote in a recent Instagram post.

Singer Kehlani donated to People’s Breakfast Oakland, an organization based in the Bay Area of California.

Rapper G-Eazy matched Kehlani's donation.

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi expressed her support for protestors on Twitter.

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