Actress Nia Long has deeply upset a segment of her fan base after getting political on Instagram.
While announcing her partnership with The Innocence Project, Long used #AllLivesMatter, a hashtag many believe is being used to undermine the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. She wrote:
“Now is the time for criminal justice! Join me in helping @innocence fight wrongful convictions. #AllLivesMatter #Reform
This immediately outraged many of her followers who began speaking out in disappointment in the comment section of the post.
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!!!”
Others joined in with promises to unfollow and no longer support Long going forward, although not everyone appeared to be offended by her words.
“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.
Some argued that critics were missing the larger point of Long’s message. “See how everyone is brainwashed to all of this…. leave Nia alone…. its her page and she can post whatever she wants…. bottom line justice is not being served no matter what the hash tag says……,” wrote another.
Long did not remove the post and has not yet commented on the backlash.