Like thousands across America and even overseas, Fiona Apple took to the streets this past weekend to rail against racism and the murder of unarmed black man George Floyd.
On Sunday, Apple figuratively fetched the bolt cutters during a protest in Santa Monica, as SPIN points out. The musician not only yelled out “Black Lives Matter!” alongside fellow demonstrators, but also held up a sign that read, “COPS: DON’T BE WHITE CHAUVINISTS ARREST THE OTHER THREE!!!”.
The handwritten message refers to the three Minneapolis police officers also involved in Floyd’s death last week — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane — who have yet to be arrested and charged. As of right now, only Derek Chauvin, the officer who held his knee down on the throat of a non-resisting Floyd for eight minutes, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
In an Instagram post, Apple’s close friend and housemate Zelda Hallman reported from the protest, as well as encouraged others to do their part in demanding justice for Floyd:
“Getting justice for Mr. George Floyd is just the beginning of a VERY long road of dismantling racism in our institutions. But let’s get that justice. By the way, this was a peaceful protest but the police decided to change that and then I came home and watched a @cnn corespondent outright lie about what was happening. Let’s get justice for Mr. Floyd and then we continue to tackle the rest of it. Justice is needed. Justice is required. Justice will not be denied.”
Apple is no stranger when it comes to speaking out on social justice issues. Recently, the 42-year-old Grammy winner donated at least $90,000 of her earnings from “Criminal” TV and movie placements to the While They Wait Fund, an organization that provides refugees with legal services and basic necessities.
Editors’ Picks
Additionally, the credits for Fetch the Bolt Cutters mention that the album was recorded “on unceded Tongva, Mescalero Apache, and Suma territories” — a phrase co-written by Eryn Wise, an organizer for the Indigenous-led collective Seeding Sovereignty. “People aren’t thinking about this every day, and they really should be — that we are not living on land that was ceded to us,” Apple explained in a rare interview with Democracy Now!.
Check out photo and video footage of Apple joining the BLM protest below.
Since Floyd’s death on May 25th, other artists such as Killer Mike, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, JAY-Z, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift have issued their own statements on the matter. Both Halsey and Lana Del Rey also participated in protests, though the latter pop singer has received some heat for not being more careful about the photos she took. Ariana Grande, too, was spotted marching in Los Angeles on Saturday with a Black Lives Matter sign, joined by boyfriend Dalton Gomez.
If you’re as incensed as Apple, we encourage our readers to support the following organizations.
