Madonna at London’s Black Lives Matter protest, June 6. (Twitter)
Madonna showed up to a Black Lives Matter march on crutches to protest racism, chanting “No justice, no peace” in central London.
The pop star and longtime LGBT+ ally, on crutches because of a recent knee injury, was reportedly at the June 6 Black Lives Matter march without security.
It was the first of two huge rallies in London this weekend that saw thousands take to the streets protesting against racism and police brutality.
The deaths of Black men at the hands of white police officers in the US, including George Floyd on May 25 and Black trans man Tony McDade on May 27, have seen protests in all 50 US states and dozens of countries around the world.
Floyd died after a police officer pinned him down by the neck using his knee until he went limp. McDade was shot and killed by officers while being chased in connection with a fatal stabbing.
Madonna was apparently happy to receive hugs from other Black Lives Matter protestors, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, telling people: “I have the antibodies, don’t worry about it.”
As many have pointed out, her actions came on the same day that another famous white woman, JK Rowling, caused a stir – but for entirely different reasons.
“Madonna marched on the streets of London without security today fighting for equality and JK Rowling tweeted hate from the comfort of her mansion,” one person tweeted.
“I don’t wanna tell you who to stan here but…”
Madonna marched on the streets of London without security today fighting for equality and J.K. Rowling tweeted hate from the comfort of her mansion.
I don’t wanna tell you who to stan here but…
— 👑 HERR 👑 (@HERRTHEQUEEN) June 7, 2020
Madonna at the Black Lives Matter protest in London today even though she can only walk with crutches. pic.twitter.com/pAp7UAmNLb
— ❌ (@rvnawaylover) June 6, 2020
Other videos taken by fellow protestors show the Queen of Pop smiling and shouting “No peace!” in a call-and-response with a person on a megaphone who was chanting “No justice!”.
@Madonna supporting the black lives matter movement a whole queen👑 #BlackLivesMattters pic.twitter.com/OrkiwSEhyD
— Dan (@danshanice) June 6, 2020
Madonna elle a manifesté avec nous it was cute 🥺 pic.twitter.com/34IyNCJ7k6
— 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 🧸 (@BlvckWidhoe) June 6, 2020
Whilst Tory home secretary Priti Patel warned people not to join the anti-racism protests – current government guidance is to avoid gatherings of more than six people – many pointed out that in the past few weeks, hundreds of people have been pictured going to the beach and dancing in conga lines for VE day.
All of a sudden the Black Lives Matter protests will be the cause of a second wave of coronavirus? But WHERE was this energy when people were doing their shitty conga for VE Day, hypocritically clapping for the NHS on the bridge and packing up like sardines on the beach?🥴 pic.twitter.com/s5Ix8XsiPd
— FUCK BORIS🇯🇲 (@gdouglas__) June 4, 2020
you’re going to see a lot of people complaining about the Black Lives Matter protests today, so just a quick reminder that these protests are for -fundamental human rights- as opposed to all these people, who just fancied a day at the beach (Durdle Door, Bournemouth, Southend) pic.twitter.com/vtT6jCSHuM
— Lex Croucher (@lexcanroar) June 6, 2020
Madonna is not a newcomer to activism – when the AIDS epidemic reached its height in the 1980s, people who were HIV-positive faced an unbearable social stigma.
As a result, many celebrities kept their distance, choosing to ignore the illness that was wiping out the gay community – but not Madonna.
In 1989, she attended a charity dance marathon in Los Angeles to benefit people who were HIV-positive. The same year, she released the album Like a Prayer, which included a now-famous leaflet called ‘The Facts about AIDS’.
When @Madonna released #LikeAPrayer30 she included a leaflet about AIDS – something she was attacked for. Whilst AIDS isn’t a gay disease people need to remember that Madonna is not just an artist but someone who represented gays when nobody wanted to 30 years ago. Amazing album pic.twitter.com/53wVVMiCVU
— Paul McCaffrey (@PaulMacca1976) March 21, 2019
The leaflet read: “People with AIDS – regardless of their sexual orientation – deserve compassion and support, not violence and bigotry.”
At the height of the AIDS epidemic, that statement was both powerful and deeply radical.