John Boyega: 'I don’t know if I'm going to have a career after this, but **** that'
He joined the Black Lives Matter protest in London
Star Wars actor John Boyega joined the recent Black Lives Matter Protest in London and gave an inspiring speech that has been backed by many of his peers.
The 28-year-old British actor told those who had gathered, "We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd." He went on to mention two other black Americans who have died in the US, and Stephen Lawrence’s murder in London in 1993.
He continued, "We are a physical representation of our support for Sandra Bland. We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin. We are a physical representation of our support for Stephen Lawrence.”
John continued, “Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but f--k that.
"Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process. We don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones.
“I need you to understand how painful this s--t is. I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing and that isn’t the case any more, that was never the case any more.”
John's strong words have been supported by several well-known actors including his Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill who said in a tweet, 'Never been more proud of you, John. @JohnBoyega ❤️, dad'.
The actor who starred in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has also been supported by Star Wars and Lucasfilm, who recently took to Twitter with a statement which read, 'Lucasfilm stands with John Boyega and his message that, “Now is the time. Black Lives have always mattered. Black Lives have always been important. Black Lives have always meant something."’
It continued, ‘The evil that is racism must stop. We will commit to being part of the change that is long overdue in the world.
‘John Boyega, you are our hero.’
Star Wars director JJ Abrams also took to Twitter to confirm he would definitely work with him again tweeting, 'You KNOW that as long as I’m allowed to keep working, I’ll always be begging to work with you. Deep respect and love, my friend.'
John's speech follows a number of tweets he shared over the weekend, saying, 'The oppressor doesn’t give you time to talk about self love before they shoot you. Wayward individuals speaking from comfort. We SEE you.'
And, 'I need to be ALIVE to go through this process of self love and community building! It is a life long process. Proactive education is needed.'
Black Lives Matter protests have been taking place across the world following the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes, as he continually said he couldn't breathe.
A number of artists from across the music world have come forward supporting Black Lives Matter, with Little Mix, Calvin Harris and Mabel all posting on social media.