Emma Watson has taken action to “put out the fire” after being criticized by the online community for “pretending”.
The case of George Floyd – a black man who was pinned down by police in Minneapolis – has sparked a “wave” of anger across the United States. Artists have also expressed their views against racism in many different ways. Some took to the streets to join the wave of protests, others responded to trends calling for social justice on social networks, typically the “Blackout Tuesday” campaign – pausing work for a day (Tuesday, June 2) to connect with the community.
On June 2, Emma Watson and many other artists participated in “Blackout Tuesday” by posting 3 black photos on their personal Instagram, along with a series of hashtags #blackouttuesday, #theshowmustbepaused, #amplifymelanatedvoices, #amplifyblackvoices.
The posts are similar to many other Hollywood stars, but netizens have “spotted” a different detail. Those are black photos of the “Harry Potter” beauty with white borders.
One of the three black photos with white borders posted by Emma Waston.
Immediately, the photos became a hot topic of debate on social media. Many people questioned why the 9x actress wasted time editing the black photo with a white border. Others speculated that Emma added the white border “for beauty”, to match the overall look of her personal page.
With this answer, many people “stoned” Emma, saying that she was “pretending”, not really caring about black people but just following the crowd. In addition, she was also criticized for her superficial posts, consisting only of photos and a few hashtags, without sharing any other information such as personal opinions, initiatives to improve the situation or the names of reputable charities to donate to…
One of the three black photos with white borders posted by Emma Waston.
Immediately, the photos became a hot topic of debate on social media. Many people questioned why the 9x actress wasted time editing the black photo with a white border. Others speculated that Emma added the white border “for beauty”, to match the overall look of her personal page.
With this answer, many people “stoned” Emma, saying that she was “pretending”, not really caring about black people but just following the crowd. In addition, she was also criticized for her superficial posts, consisting only of photos and a few hashtags, without sharing any other information such as personal opinions, initiatives to improve the situation or the names of trustworthy charities to donate to…
One of Emma’s three “fire-fighting” posts after receiving “brickbats” from netizens.
In the next post, Emma stated: “White privilege is a system of class division and domination, of exploitation and oppression, embedded in society. As a white person, I have benefited from this. I am still struggling with how in many ways I have unwittingly supported and maintained a racist system. I see your anger, your sadness, your pain. I have never experienced these feelings, but that does not mean I do not try to understand your pain.” Finally, she promised: “I stand with you.”
In the last post, she posted a photo of the cover of British Vogue magazine, July 2020, with the face of the black supermarket employee Anisa Omar, along with an interview video about her daily life. British Vogue is understood to want to express gratitude to the staff who have worked hard during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emma Watson also pledged to share resources for research, learning and listening on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.