Terry Crews again faced heated criticism on Tuesday over a tweet about the possible direction of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“If you are a child of God, you are my brother and sister. I have family of every race, creed and ideology,” the actor tweeted. “We must ensure #blacklivesmatter doesn’t morph into #blacklivesbetter.”
His comment ― like one he made earlier this month voicing concerns about “Black supremacy” ― drew swift and harsh backlash.
It prompted Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., to respond, “We’re so far from that bridge, Terry.”
She explained in her tweet:
CNN political commentator Keith Boykin, a former White House aide during President Bill Clinton’s administration, noted that “in 1883, the Supreme Court claimed a Civil Rights Act would make Black people ‘the special favorite of the laws.’”
He added: “Demanding Black equality is not Black supremacy” (and also clarified his initial mischaracterization of Crews’ tweet).
“For Life” actor Felonious Munk urged Crews to worry about present circumstances before hypothesizing about unlikely future outcomes:
And The Root writer Michael Harriot called out Crews for his “dedication to centering whiteness.”
Representatives of Crews declined to comment.
Crews later responded to Bernice King’s tweet, saying she was “right.”
In an appearance later Tuesday on Roland Martin’s YouTube show, however, he defended his comments while addressing the backlash.
“Maybe I’m too soon. Like Bernice King said, that’s a bridge far far away,” he said. “Well, you know what? I called it. I see what could happen — and one man has to say it. And if it has to be me, then so be it. I do not mind not being liked.”
In a controversy earlier this year, Crews apologized to Gabrielle Union for invalidating her experience on “America’s Got Talent” after she spoke up about a culture of racism on the show. Crews, when asked to weigh in on the matter, had said, “That was never my experience on ‘America’s Got Talent.’”
Here are some of the other responses to his latest comments.
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