Selena Gomez was among the many stars who shuttered their official websites yesterday in support of Blackout Tuesday.
Selena was one of the many pausing for the day and seeking out ways to lift up the black community and call for justice of racial inequality in America. She also listed several organizations to visit, including Black Lives Matter, When We All Vote, Color of Change and the NAACP. Her new Rare Beauty company also joined Blackout Tuesday.
Rihanna also closed up shop on her brand Fenty and made a promise to donate funds Color Of Change and Movement For Black Lives.
Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Post Malone and many others also shut down for the day, posting nothing but black squares while participating in #TheShowMustBePaused in response to the death of George Floyd.
Others participating included Maren Morris, Drake, Coldplay, Ricky Martin, Normani, Green Day, Meghan Trainor, Dua Lipa, Elton John, Billy Joel and many more.
The movement gained momentum after Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang launched #TheShowMustBePaused in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and “countless other Black citizens at the hands of police,” the initiative’s website stated.
However, Lil Nas X believed the initiative would “slow down” the momentum.
“I know y’all mean well but… bro saying stop posting for a day is the worst idea ever,” the “Old Town Road” artist tweeted, later adding, “I just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever. I don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. We don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. We need to spread info and be as loud as ever.”
He also wrote that “this is not helping us” and that people “need to see what’s going on.” “Not tryna be announcing but what if we posted donation and petitions links on Instagram all at the same time instead of pitch black images,” he wrote.
In addition, some celebrities including Kehlani, Lizzo and Kumail Nanjiani, urged participants to not use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter along with their posts for a good reason.
“Hey everybody, when you post your black square, please don’t use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter because it is flooding the hashtag search with just black pictures instead of information,” Lizzo said. “So if you’re going to post a black square, post a black square and say it but don’t hashtag it.”
