Nia Long Is the Latest Victim of #AllLivesMatter
Nia Long is the latest celebrity to get called out for saying "all lives matter." The rom-com icon has come under fire from a number of her fans for using the #AllLivesMatter hashtag while announcing her partnership with The Innocence Project.
“Now is the time for criminal justice! Join me in helping @innocence fight wrongful convictions. #AllLivesMatter #Reform," she wrote on Instagram, captioning a picture of herself wearing a black Innocence Project t-shirt.
Not surprisingly, the outrage was expressed immediately in the comments, with some fans vowing to unfollow Long and cease supporting any of her work. One fan wrote, “If all lives matter we wouldn't need to exclaim black lives matter... the purpose of the phrase to emphasize that black lives are just as valuable and important as everyone else's and therefore should be treated equally.... smh this truly disappointing Nia!!!”
Some, though, stood up for the veteran actress. “She was on a different movement here, I get what she's saying but the hashtag should've been different, I don't believe she's intentionally discounting #blacklivesmatter hashtag,” wrote one supporter.
Long, meanwhile, appears to be holding her ground. Though she has not commented on the backlash, she has not removed the post.
She's certainly not the first celeb to feel the wrath of social media over those words. Maybe Raven-Symoné can give her a few pointers on how to deal.
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Watch: Is Black Lives Matters More Than a Hashtag? in the video below.
(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)