Celebrities denounce pro-Trump rioters after they rampage the US Capitol
- On Wednesday afternoon, violent Trump-supporting insurrectionists breached the US Capitol building.
- Many world-famous directors, actors, comedians, and other celebrities denounced the unprecedented acts on social media.
On Wednesday, a joint session of Congress (in which US representatives were gathered to tally the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election) was interrupted when Trump-supporting rioters broke into the Capitol building. Some of the rioters are armed, and one woman was shot dead.
As chaos unfolded, many of the country's most prominent movie and TV stars, along with directors, posted denouncements of the riots on social media. Others expressed disbelief at the discrepancy between police behavior towards unarmed Black Lives Matter protestors, and the photos and videos of insurrectionists walking around inside the US Capitol building.
Many celebrities shared their disbelief and anger on Twitter
"I'm speechless," Chris Evans ("Avengers," "Knives Out") tweeted.
"Just think of the carnage had they not been white," he said in a second tweet. A final tweet from the "Captain America" actor added that "so many people enabled this."
Mark Ruffalo, another Marvel star, called for the removal of President Trump via the 25th Amendment, which
"formally outlines the transition of power if the president is unable or unfit to serve."
"It's all BS," he said in a second tweet. "Look now at the face of lawlessness, look at this willful ignorance, remember these people. They are the enemies of democracy."
Singer Stevie Wonder also mentioned the 25th Amendment in a tweet about the day's violence.
"I am heartbroken and astounded that this narcissistic and dangerous president would put lives in danger and encourage violent sedition against our government," he tweeted in a second post. "That man is no longer able to serve as President because he can't accept defeat. Can we afford 2 more weeks? I say NO!"
Famed TV showrunner Shonda Rhimes ("Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," "Bridgerton") said the pro-Trump mob should be labeled "terrorists."
Former "Sex and the City" star and 2018 New York governor candidate Cynthia Nixon echoed the label "terrorist."
Emmy-winning actress Zendaya ("Euphoria," "Spider-Man: Far From Home") retweeted a post she first shared in 2017: "CALL IT WHAT IT IS. IT. IS. TERRORISM."
Actor and TV creator Issa Rae ("Insecure") had a simple message: "Truly disgusted."
"The language of white supremacy is a language of cowardice disguised as dominance," director and documentarian Ava DuVernay ("13th", "When They See Us,") wrote when quote-tweeted a video allegedly showing two men "recreating" the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Michael Keaton ("Batman," "Birdman," "Spider-Man: Homecoming") shared the contrast between his personal experience at the hands of police and what footage showed of the scene at the US Capitol.
"I was chased and run through tear gas demonstrating against the war in the 70s," the actor wrote. "What the police DIDN'T do today was shocking. They sure were ready during the [Black Lives Matter demonstration] which was peaceful."
Actress and pop star Jennifer Lopez tweeted the prayer-hands emoji in response to a news report on President-Elect Joe Biden's response to the violent scene. Biden called on the "mob" to "pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward."
Writer and actor Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat") tagged social media CEOs and founders, including Mark Zuckerberg, asking them to "ban Donald Trump" from their platforms.
Actor Josh Gad ("Frozen," "The Book of Mormon") had a similar message for the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey.
"On behalf of America [...] you need to pull the chord on him now," Gad wrote. "He can't have this platform anymore. Don't be complicit in the violence he is instigating. Anyone out there want to co-sign?"
Actor Don Cheadle discussed the events during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." He said: "We're watching, unfortunately, a historical event that could have been predicted, I believe, and we're watching it happen in real-time and I'm glad I'm with my family and we're all sort of processing this together."
He added: "This was not something that came out of the blue, this was foreseen and projected, the President asked for it specifically, for his protestors to show up and disrupt on this day, so to be caught unaware is very curious."
Actor and director Regina King also made an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and explained that she had previously canceled her DirectTV subscription in order to stop herself from watching so much television, but she received a call early yesterday to turn the TV on to watch the events that were unfolding in DC.
She said: "Someone called me to tell me you need to turn the TV on so I had to borrow a friend's Hulu live account so I could tune in. And I tuned in to people with pitchforks and being escorted down the steps after protesting very calmly by police officers after they had broken windows."
She added: "The divided states of America."
The US Capitol building was secured four hours after the breach began. Early this morning members of congress continued the vote count and certified the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
For a live update of the day's unfolding events, read Insider's breakdown here.
- Read more:
- The attempted coup by a pro-Trump mob was the most significant breach of the Capitol since the War of 1812
- Congress members vow to finish the electoral certification process to confirm Biden's 2020 victory after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol
- YouTube deleted Trump's recent video that baselessly disputed the election results and told rioters to 'go home' amid an insurrection at the US Capitol