Respect Equality

Celebrities help Minneapolis protesters make bail

by Alexandra Kelley | May. 29, 2020

george floyd minnesota minnapolis steve carell seth rogen hollywood donations bail ben schwartz safdieblack lives matter killed police officers four kneeling neck i can't breathe I ahmaud arbery breonna taylor eric garner
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Story at a glance

  • Multiple actors and celebrities begin to donate bail to Minneapolis protesters.
  • Several arrests were made as protests escalated to riots over George Floyd’s death.

As the death of George Floyd brings national attention to Minneapolis, protests have progressed from demonstrations to a police precinct being set aflame and damage to private properties and businesses, resulting in multiple arrests. 

Now, people are rallying to help arrested protesters make bail, including some high profile donors. 

The Minnesota Freedom Fund, a nonprofit organization that facilitates cash bail donations, has launched a resource page to fundraise bail for the Minneapolis protesters who have been arrested. The page has been widely circulated on social media since Thursday, and has garnered dozens of donations around the $50 mark.

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The chain linking Twitter users to the fund gained even more traction when it was retweeted by the Safdie brothers, two notable independent directors whose recent filmography includes the critically acclaimed 2019 movie Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler and Idina Menzel.

 

 

After this tweet, other Hollywood heavyweights took notice. Since Thursday, Seth Rogen, Ben Schwartz and Steve Carell have all commented that they matched donations to help protesters make bail. 

 

 

As of Friday morning, other celebrities, including actor and singer Janelle Monáe, television presenter and activist Jameela Jamil, actor Patton Oswalt, and actor and former New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon have donated and tweeted out their support for Minnesota protesters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrities have a history in being involved in social activism, whether physically participating or financially supporting. In 2015, musical power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly donated “tens of thousands of dollars” to bail out protesters arrested in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, another black man who died while in police custody. 

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