Cher apologizes for George Floyd tweet claiming she could have prevented his death if she had been there
CHER has apologised for her tone-deaf tweet claiming she could have helped prevent George Floyd’s death if she had been there.
The ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ crooner was berated on the social media last week after she claimed she could have been instrumental in saving Floyd.
She made the outlandish statement while sharing a snippet of a conversation she had with her mother regarding the televised trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis cop accused of killing Floyd last year.
The now-deleted tweet read: “Was talking With Mom & She Said ‘I Watched Trial Of Policeman Who Killed George Floyd,& Cried.
“I Said ‘Mom,I Know This Is Gonna Sound CRAZY,But.. I Kept Thinking …..Maybe If I’d Been There,…I Could’ve Helped. (sic)”
The 74-year-old was slammed on Twitter by outraged users who condemned her for pushing a “white saviour complex” that diminishes the actions of eyewitnesses.
It came after a week of emotional testimony delivered by by-standers, expressing their guilt and sadness at their inability to intervene as Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
One user hit back, “Singing songs doesn’t erase racism, Cher.”
Another added, “Um … Cher, I think you’re great and all, but this ain’t it. George Floyd’s murder isn’t about you.”
Despite the backlash, she defiantly left the tweet up for a number of days before it was deleted.
Cher first touched on the response to her controversial comment, writing, “Wrestled With This Twt, Because I Thought some ppl wouldn’t understand, Or Believe an Entertainer Could have Honest emotions about a human Being, suffering & Dying, even if It’s Only Shown On tv.
“You Don’t Know What I’ve Done,Who I Am,Or What I Believe. I CAN, I HAVE, & I WILL..HELP. (sic)”
Her seemingly well-intended but ill-received remark was again met with angst, as one user replied: “There was an MMA fighter, EMT, 4 young people and others who testified about the fear and helplessness.
“How would CHER have helped stop a white male sociopath from killing a black man? How? That kind of radical activism ain’t even in white women’s cultural or genomic history.”
She later followed it up with another tweet that read, “I Just got off phone With Friend Karen.
“Told her what Happened,& Realized,You Can Piss Ppl Off,& Hurt Them By Not Knowing Everything That’s”NOT Appropriate”To Say.I know Ppl Apologize When They’re In a Jam,BUT TO GOD ,IM TRULY SORRY If I Upset AnyOne In Blk Community.I Know My (heart emoji)”.
Cher has maintained a notable presence on the bird app since she joined.
She was an avid critic of former President Trump, who she branded a “cheap thug”, a “troll” and even compared him to Hitler.
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Her tweet is the latest clumsy comment on the internet from a high-profile celebrity in the wake of Floyd’s death, which shook the globe and sparked the international Black Lives Matter movement.
Madonna came under fire after posting a video of her son David dancing, to supposedly “honour” Floyd and his family.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson was also accused of being a “performative” activist, by editing her Blackout Tuesday square to keep in theme with the rest of her Instagram aesthetic.