Derek Chauvin and three other police officers killed George Floyd last Monday in Minneapolis. The four police officers were fired within 24 hours. But they weren’t arrested for days. Minneapolis became the site of protests and riots. Regarding those riots, there’s growing evidence suggesting that white MAGA Nazi types are infiltrating peaceful protests and “instigating” some of those riots too. With Minneapolis on the verge of a fiery weekend full of protests and riots, the Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman finally got off his ass and arrested Chauvin. The three other officers involved in George Floyd’s murder remain free and unarrested. Freeman even bragged that this was “the fastest” the country has ever arrested a cop. Like that’s a good thing, that they usually slow walk the sh-t out these kinds of things, or that so many violent-murderer cops aren’t even charged or arrested.
Just after Chauvin was arrested and charged, his wife Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce and her lawyer released this statement: “She is devastated by Mr. Floyd’s death and her utmost sympathy lies with his family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy.” She either filed for divorce to protect their assets, or she’s seen first-hand what kind of man her husband is and she knew this was the moment to GTFO. Or both, honestly. It will be interesting to see what happens there.
Before Chauvin’s arrest, celebrities and politicians began making statements online. Taylor Swift decided to chime in after she read Donald Trump’s unhinged tweets about shooting all of the looters. She tweeted:
After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 29, 2020
For fun, check out all of the salty neckbeards mansplaining “but antifa” to her in the responses. This was her most “liked” tweet of all time though, and good for her. With one tweet, she was actually doing a lot more than some people purporting to be allies.
I also wanted to post Cardi B’s tweet because it was SO good. Cardi continues to have a better understanding of basic government and electoral systems than nearly everyone else with a public platform. Cardi using this moment to encourage people to vote in mayoral, judgeship and district attorney local elections is definitely one of the high points of Cardi’s online life.
Spread pic.twitter.com/6V0HsGoTME
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) May 29, 2020
Other responses to George Floyd’s murder and the protests and riots:
My statement on the death of George Floyd: pic.twitter.com/Hg1k9JHT6R
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 29, 2020
We are a country with an open wound.
None of us can turn away. None of us can be silent. None of us any longer can hear those words — “I can’t breathe” — and do nothing.
We must commit, as a nation, to pursue justice with every ounce of our being. pic.twitter.com/veodlR1UYU
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 29, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty, Backgrid.
As much as I think Cardi B is problematic, she has good points when speaking about social and economical topics
I wonder why Trump is not getting mad at Taylor Swift’s tweet? Because she’s white?
I agree on all your points here. Kudos to both Cardi B and Taylor on this!
Same, I’m not their biggest fan but I’m glad they stepped up.
Rich and no doubt well connected parents. I’d like to know what Trump would like to retort to Swift.
Chauvin’s wife was charged with writing checks.
George Floyd and Chauvin worked at the same restaurant for years.
Do you have a link for that info?
I posted about this on Friday. Don’t know about the other.
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/29/865803157/george-floyd-and-derek-chauvin-were-co-workers-says-former-club-owner
Thanks for the link and OMG how is this not the lede on every story? If they potentially knew each other, there’s possible motive for first degree murder. OMFG.
Yes, I there is. I hope Mr. Floyd’s team is pursuing an investigation into a possible personal motive on Chauvin’s part.
The last time Taylor made a tweet against Trump, he said he liked her music about 25% less lol. Good for her and Cardi for taking a stand.
On Kellie Chauvin: law enforcement officers have a much higher rate of domestic violence than other professions. We know that Derek Chauvin is a very violent man who had 18 charges of misconduct against him, including wrongful shooting of people, BEFORE he murdered George Lloyd. It is not inconceivable, in fact it is probable, that Kellie Chauvin was one of his victims. With him currently sitting in a jail cell, with little ability to lash out at her, she may finally feel safe to escape. These accusations that she filed for divorce to protect assets instead of saving herself; well, I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt.
@Lightpurple I agree. I don’t think anyone should rush to judgement on this one. No one knows anything about her, except she filed for divorce 24 hours after Chauvin was arrested. Let’s consider someone like Camille Cosby, who chose to stand by her man, Bill Cosby in all his rape and sexual assault allegations (and later guilty verdict). Many women might have made the decision to stand by their man (Hillary Clinton anyone?). She obviously didn’t for whatever reason, and we don’t know what those are. Given that he had some 18 charges of misconduct on his record, I think it’s a safe bet to think she had some inkling of this asshole’s temperament. And as @Lightpurple said, perhaps without him there, she was able to make a decision on her own, in her own best interest. But who really knows? I am sure more information will come to light, but right now, I chose to give her the benefit of the doubt. Many women chose to stay; she didn’t.
Time will tell, but my gut feeling is that she is likely one of his victims as well, and him finally being arrested was her chance to escape:
Perhaps Kellie Chauvin is trying to protect the couple’s assets from a civil suit? Her husband Derek is in serious trouble. While Kellie Chauvin may be a victim of domestic violence, it seems odd for a woman to file for divorce 24 hours after her husband is arrested for a crime. I’m sure the couple’s finances will be investigated — Follow the Money.
I’m grateful to any celebrity with a large social media following who speaks out with clarity and sincerity about our country’s systemic racism and police violence.
Kellie Chauvin’s first husband was abusive. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Derek Chauvin abused her as well.
You’re not married to a monster like Chauvin and don’t know what he’s about, particularly since this isn’t his first trip to this rodeo. She can GTFO – this divorce talk is a front for something shady.
As for Taylor, I still don’t particularly like or trust her – but she has a huge platform and this is a good use of it.
She filed for divorce within 24 hours…that tells me she was looking for an out. I don’t know. She could very well be an abused spouse.
That didn’t look like the first time he had put a knee to someone’s neck, just the first time he did it until the person died. We don’t know what she endured in that home.
Could also be when Chauvin is found not guilty a year from now, Floyd’s family won’t get anything in a wrongful death suit, if filed.
That’s my thinking too. Domestic violence is always horrible but I would imagine the possibilities of protection or escaping the situation are bleaker when your spouse and his buddies are working for the police department. If that applies to her in this case, good for her for taking the opportunity she had to get out.
Statistically she’s 40% more likely to been a victim of spousal abuse since her husband is a cop. Guys like that don’t just turn it off when they get home. He’s finally been arrested for something, maybe this was her first chance to cut and run.
However, they also have property in FL and other assests so it could just be about keeping that safe from a civil suit. Who knows?
Wow can’t say I’ve ever been remotely i terested or impressed by Cardi B but well she hit the nail on the head didn’t she?!
Great set of responses but a truly horrifying situation made all the more horrifying by the person in the white house overseeing all of this sh*t.
@cherhorowitz – Cardi b has always loved politics and history, iirc. The only reason she stopped going to school part time because she earned a lot more money stripping.
Saw a tweet somewhere: 2020 Taylor Swift is speaking out against white supremacy and Kanye West is wearing a MAGA hat.
Yes I saw that tweet. If I saw it in 2010 I wouldn’t have known what to make of it. I think that all the time now. I drove down the expressway the other day, and all of the digital signs were flashing “NY Tough. Remember to wear face coverings”. I spent the whole drive pondering what I would have thought that meant if someone had given me a glimpse of 2020 in 2010. Nuclear fallout? I don’t know. What a time to be alive huh?
Yeah…
And there are no reactions from Republican leaders because…
I shudder to think what America’s covid19 numbers are going to be like by the end of June. With mass protests in the streets it’s going to get much worse.
EXACTLY!! It’s like somehow, everyone forgot we are still in the midst of a pandemic! It didn’t go away people! I have never been so heartbroken and sad over the tragic state of our country, and I put most of the blame for that at the top. #sorrynotsorry
I’m in Pacific Time and probably too late to respond to this, but this is the most white privilege-y comment and I cannot believe more people haven’t called you out on it. We know it didn’t go away. People have had enough of centuries of systemic injustice and what I’m calling targeted domestic terrorism. You clearly have no idea what it is like to live in fear of being killed by the police or by some white supremacists while simply going out for a jog. Please have all the seats.
@Green Desert – You have no idea about me, or clearly what I was speaking about. I was talking about the clear racism/disgusting attitude of our President Donald Trump and how this has affected this tragedy. So before you go insulting someone, think. My heart is broken over all of this, and I have protested and donated time/money over this. So why don’t you have “the seats”
You think they aren’t aware of that? I read a quote from a black male protester which pretty much summed it up: “I have to choose to fight which virus is going to kill me.”
Exactly. I have a feeling the protests would have attracted a ton more people if we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic. My friends who protested in Chicago yesterday weighed the pros and cons extensively before deciding it was worth the risk to support our communities of color.
LaraW”, that protester’s comment is the most profound thing I’ve read in a while and I hope that people, including the first two posters on this thread, see this. Most people with half a brain (so that excludes most Trump supporters) know this pandemic is serious and are taking it seriously. Some do have to choose.
“I have to choose to fight which virus is going to kill me.”
Just like choosing between Trump & Biden #Ventura2020
This thinking – having to choose between fighting Covid and fighting racism – has been running through my mind all weekend. What a difficult choice.
Mass shootings dropped down during confinement, most crimes numbers went down.
Police and white supremacists killing innocent POC? Those numbers stayed the same. Because not even a freaking pandemic will stop racists from committing murder
At some point, screw this! This is too important. You’ll be wearing a mask and goggles to keep some of the tear gas away anyway. It’s not about the “right” to go to the beach or get a haircut, it’s about your right to live and your dignity as a human being; it’s worth the risk for all who’ll come after us
If this is what you can say to people protesting the rights of POC to live and breathe in USA, you’re part of the problem. I will leave it there and keep it civil, which is less than you deserve.
All I know is 2020 has been awful and we’re only halfway through this sh*t. I live in DC and am barricaded in my house because of coronavirus (which hasnt gone away protestors!) and now everyone rightly saying enough is enough.
By all means, burn sh*t down, but my goodness we need a little happy and soon.
There are several comments here being surprised by Cardi’s intelligence. Seriously, when she has been showing this since forever now. I see y’all.
I was with my teens at protest yesterday and saw a busted out car with people hopping all over it. I told my kids “if these people put the same energy into voting for sheriff we won’t have inmates ‘committing suicide’ at the jail every month”. I just watched Cardi and thought “damn, that’s why she’s famous and I’m not”. Not only is she super smart, she is entertaining as hell!
IIRC Cardi was a really good student – I think she was in AP classes in high school – and started dancing because it made more money than, other jobs are available to teens?
I know y’all hate Bernie but she was a supporter and when she talked about why she did, it showed she understood and cared about issues of inequality.
Urging people to vote, like Swift and others are saying, is good but insufficient because Democratic administrations cannot overnight correct these racist structures which are decades, centuries in the making. The mayor of Minneapolis is a Dem. Dismantling of these systems is required. Accountability is needed. Hard long work. Voting is only a start.
@tiffany. Been biting my tongue but it says a lot about society that a woc who held off on her formal education is assumed to be less right than a white male who needed family money and connections to obtain their formal education. People assume this even when all evidence shows otherwise.
+1. Good on both of them for speaking out.
Exactly! You can tell people assumed she was dumb because of her body, her attitude, the way she speaks, etc. and didn’t bother to hear what she’s been saying for literal years now. Says more about them.
Check Jennifer Garner’s IG. She made two very moving posts about this, but I can’t post them here.
Sarah Wayne Callies put up a really good video on IG too. Addressing “Karen and Becky”. I have a huge girl crush on Sarah.
My heart aches for America. I’ve refused to look ar *that* video of what happened. The world is in crisis due to a pandemic, the most vile form of racism and white supremacy has reared its ugly head once again, and America has the misfortune of being saddled with with a useless, disgusting and dangerous thing like trump as president. He and his supporters are just…scum. November is coming ever closer. He is the weakest link. He needs to go.
We’re living in hell.
Everyone’s excited about the divorce , and her bad check.
For me the shocking thing is killer cop knew the vicitm. Really makes it seem like murder , 2nd degree not 3rd. I guess people aren’t talking about it (former coworkers) because se they may be witnesses in court about what was between killer cop and George Floyd.
Also no ones talking about the other 3 cops. I’m not surprised or interested that the cop has a wife who has made a small mistake 15 years ago, how is that the headline everywhere when he knew the victim!!!
I saw one former co-worker interviewed. She didn’t think that they’d ever worked the same shift and wasn’t sure if they knew each other, other than in passing. She also talked about Chauvin being extra aggression on their “urban nights.”
It’s weird that he has been a cop a while, been reprimanded for incidents many times I think, and the first time he actually kills someone there’s a possibility that he knew that guy for a while (and didn’t act respectfully to people of the same culture as the vicitm.) such a coincidence if it is.
It is a good thing that they arrested the cop fast though! Slower than average would be bad faster than average is this good imo
Fast does not necessarily equal good, especially when it comes to arresting a cop. Police have protections that you and I do not have, especially since prosecutors rely on them to catch the criminal, gather evidence, document their actions, and testify in court.
It’s better to have an airtight case which convicts the killer and gets him in jail than a fast arrest which ends up letting the killer go free. I was reading on a law forum where prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys were discussing the case, and they universally agreed that the probable cause affidavit is piece of shit. Hopefully it’ll be amended so prosecution can make a stronger case, but the fact is this: the medical examiner did not find any signs of asphyxiation or trauma to the neck. That doesn’t mean Chauvin didn’t cause the death of Floyd, but prosecution’s job just got exponentially harder right there.
Do you know how much worse this situation could get if Chauvin’s defense gets him acquitted because prosecution fucked up their investigation?
I thought Killer Mike’s response was just brilliant:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy9io6VEt58
That was incredible.
I don’t have a lot of hope right now. But a former colleague of my ex-hubby – a prof of criminal law – shared this:
https://twitter.com/professornunn/status/1267090106244050950
Thank you for the many posts with information. We had non-stop reports from LA County on several stations. As the protestors left the looters moved in, with as many as 20-25 cars on one street, e.g., Fairfax. Run in, grab, load the car, repeat. Break windows, set fire to stores once the looting is complete. Gov Newsom declared a state emergency, National Guard troops were on the way as of last evening. All four officers were complicit. The other three need to be charged.
My heart breaks for Mr Floyd. He worked with that asshole previously and then was murdered by the mofo. Obviously he knew what was happening the entire time and the motivations of assface were apparent to Mr Floyd. There are not enough prayers to fix this situation. We need to do the work.
Sorry. Good on Cardi and Taylor.
I love her message, but I’m so distracted by her next level trashiness! Cardi, for the love of all that is holy, couldn’t U have gotten rid of those heinous nails for 5 seconds? Perception is everything and the red necks she speaks of are gonna discount her intelligence and call her a hoe because of the way she presents herself and articulates. Only her fan base might listen. Let’s hope it’s a big one.
Omg, I can’t believe you are saying that! Her words are just as worthy no matter how her nails are styled! Rednecks aren’t going to listen to her anyway. Sheesh. She is not more worthy of being heard when she’s styled a certain way. Her words have worth no matter her style!
That says more about them/you- and how low the bar is kept for the ‘right’ kind of racists and misogynists in the ‘liberated’ west- than it does about her.
@Joanna: Right? What must she think of pride parade?
Either is these ladies are more eloquent than the Tantrum toddler making things so much worse with his big dogs and scary weapons threats.
My city, (Cleveland), was burned and looted yesterday. The protesters who were marching because of their righteous outrage over the murder of George Floyd had their message buried by the violence that took place. George Floyd’s family has spoken out against violence, and they said that he would have been against anything other than peaceful protests. I fear that this will all get much worse before it gets any better.
I wish Taylor had used her voice and influence during the election in 2016. But good for her that she is speaking up now and I hope she’s right and he’s out in november.
Her documentary on netflix touches on this
Good for anyone speaking out and using their platform in an important way. Cardi’s comments about voting are SPOT ON, especially about local elections.