NEWS

Cher apologises for George Floyd tweet: “I’m truly sorry”

Cher has apologised for a tweet she made about George Floyd on Friday (April 2), in which she suggested she could have prevented his death.

Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis last May when one officer pinned him to the ground by placing his knee on his neck for over nine minutes.

Derek Chauvin, the former officer accused of killing Floyd, is currently on trial for murder. As the trial continued on Friday, Cher posted a tweet about a conversation she’d had with her mother about the legal proceedings.

“Was talking with Mom & She Said ‘I Watched Trial Of Policeman Who Killed George Floyd, & Cried,” she wrote in the now-deleted tweet. “I Said ‘Mom, I Know This Is Gonna Sound CRAZY, But.. I Kept Thinking …..Maybe If I’d Been There,…I Could’ve Helped.”

Twitter users criticised the star for making Floyd’s death about her and having a “white saviour complex”.

“If the fire fighter EMS who tried to intervene didn’t succeed, you sure had no chance,” one Twitter user said. “What a post!! Mindboggling. Do you think you have some kind of magical power? Police would not allow anyone to interfere in their business.”

Writing on the social media site yesterday (April 3), Cher initially addressed the controversy around the tweet, but did not immediately apologise. “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,” she wrote.

 

“You Don’t Know What I’ve Done,Who I Am,Or What I Believe. I CAN, I HAVE, & I WILL..HELP.”

Later, she tweeted again, apologising for her earlier words. “I Just got off phone With Friend Karen,” she wrote. “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].”

 

Following Floyd’s death, the city of Minneapolis pledged to disband its police department. Nine out of 12 of Minneapolis City Council members backed the idea and vowed to introduce constructive alternatives after Floyd died in police custody.