Why Ice Cube Cancelled TV Appearance After George Floyd Protests
The Black community has been outraged over the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, which comes after the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Sean Reed.
Legendary rapper Ice Cube has voiced his concerns as well and canceled his appearance on Good Morning America.
He wrote on twitter, “I apologize to everyone expecting to see me on Good Morning America today, but after the events in Minnesota with George Floyd I’m in no mood to tell America, good morning.”
On May 26, Ice Cube, 50, caused a stir with a tweet about Floyd’s death at the hands of police: "How long will we go for Blue on Black Crime before we strike back???"
In response to criticism over tweeting "strike back," Cube, who co-wrote “F*ck Tha Police” with N.W.A in 1988, followed up with, "Anybody coming at me for what I said ain't ready to do s**t …"
On May 25, Minneapolis resident George Floyd died after a police officer held his knee to his neck for over five minutes. The fatal encounter was also caught on video and immediately went viral on social media. He was only 46 years old.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for criminal charges against Derek Chauvin, the police officer seen on video pinning Floyd under his knee until he lost consciousness and died. Chauvin, along with officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng, were all fired Wednesday (May 28).
Chauvin, 44, was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis police force and had been the subject of at least a dozen complaints, but was never disciplined, NBC News reported. Thao and another officer, Robert Thunder, were reportedly sued in 2017 for excessive use of force. That case was settled for $25,000, according to the Star-Tribune. Kueng, and Lane have had no reported disciplinary actions taken against them prior to Floyd’s death.
Overnight, there were protests in Minneapolis and Los Angeles. According to WFMZ, Courtney Ross, Floyd’s fiancée, called for people to remain calm and said, “You can’t fight fire with fire.”
Watch the video of Courtney Ross below:
