Snoop Dogg, Madonna Join Growing Number of Artists Condemning George Floyd's Death

A growing number of artists and personalities, including Snoop Dogg and Madonna, have joined the call for justice for George Floyd's death, a Black man who died shortly after a fatal encounter with the local police.

The national outrage continues to grow after a Minnesota police officer, who pinned the unarmed 46-year-old Floyd by kneeling on his neck, was caught in a video that surfaced across the Internet Monday evening, May 25. George Floyd was arrested Monday outside a deli on suspicion of forgery.

"My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts. ... (I need) water or something. Please. Please. I can't breathe, officer. I cannot breathe," Floyd can be heard saying past the 1:30 mark on the video. Bystanders have also criticized the officers and pleaded on behalf of the pinned man.

As reported by CBS Minnesota, the police said in a statement that Floyd had a medical incident during an attempted arrest. However, the now-viral arrest video showed the officer with one knee on George Floyd's neck for about seven minutes. The arrested Floyd can be heard pleading to the officers, repeatedly telling that he can't breathe. Floyd lost consciousness later and died later at a hospital.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that the arrest on video was "wrong at every level," adding that what happened "does not reflect the values that Chief [Medaria] Arradondo has worked tirelessly to instill."

Even Minnesota's Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan have called the video "disturbing" and called for justice.

"The lack of humanity in this disturbing video is sickening," the Minnesota governor said, promising answers and justice to the incident.

On Instagram, Snoop Dogg posted a snapshot of the officer pinning Floyd on one side, saying, "This...," and an image of NFL star Colin Kaepernick kneeling on the other, tagged "...Is Why." The rapper's IG post was captioned "no justice just us."

Pop icon Madonna has also voiced out against the incident, calling it "the most sickening, heartbreaking thing [I've] seen in a long time." She added extended apologies for Floyd and his family, and all that came before this incident. "I pray to GOD it does one day," the 61-year-old Queen of Pop wrote in a lengthy IG post before ending it with "Until then-F**k The Police! Yea I said it. Im not interested in being PC. Im interested in justice."

Rapper and actor Ice Cube wondered "How long will we go for Blue on Black Crime before we strike back???" as he retweeted the viral video.

Ariana Grande, meanwhile, shared her thoughts via Instagram stories. "Justice is not just about specific officers being arrested. It's about dismantling the systems that make it possible," the "Dangerous Woman" singer wrote.

Grande's "Stick With U" collaborator, Justin Bieber, also took to Instagram to express condemnation about Floyd's death. "THIS MUST STOP. this makes me absolutely sick," Biebs wrote on Instagram.

Actor and musician Ice T, whose real name is Tracy Marrow, retweeted The Washington Post and wrote "They Killed another Brother.. On Video." Ice T wrote and released the controversial 1992 track "Cop Killer" in his heavy metal outfit Body Count. He later played a police officer on the TV drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Tags

Black Lives Matter, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber