Music stars like Rihanna and Pharrell Williams are among the people speaking out against anti-Asian violence following the shooting of six Asian women in Georgia this week.
On Twitter, Rihanna called the murders “brutal, tragic” and “not isolated.” She wrote: “I’m heartbroken for the Asian community & my heart is with the loved ones of those we lost. The hate must stop.”
While investigators have not yet concluded that the gunman was motivated by anti-Asian hate, attacks on Asians in the U.S. and Canada have increased during the pandemic. Former president Donald Trump regularly referred to the COVID-19 as “the China virus.”
“Enough is enough,” Pharrell Williams shared on social media, describing the shootings as a “senseless act of hatred.” Williams added: “We must protect our Asian brothers and sisters.”
Ariana Grande shared resources via Instagram Stories and Justin Timberlake retweeted statements from others condemning the violence – including the NAACP.
“Absolutely horrible,” John Legend tweeted. “Our nation needs to reckon with the increased threats being directed at our Asian-American brothers and sisters.”
Dionne Warwick tweeted: “How much longer are we going to tolerate, a word I never use, this madness of hate to continue!?”
A tweet from Camila Cabello read: “We need to do everything in our power to stand up against hate.”
Canada’s Lido Pimienta shared: “Another story of a White man * in distress * back at it again. STOP ASIAN HATE. Call it what it is: A HATE CRIME against women, against non white women at the hands of a home-grown WHITE MALE TERRORIST.”
Trading card company Topps announced this week it was scrapping a sticker card depicting the members of BTS with injured faces. The “Bopping K-POP” card showed cartoon versions of BTS being hit with a Grammy statuette in a game of Whac-A-Mole.