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Love Island’s Charlie Brake has apologised for sharing a tweet by Donald Trump which was hidden by the social network for glorifying violence. There have been widespread riots in the US after a white police officer was filmed killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes, despite his saying that he couldn’t breathe.
Trump’s original tweet read:
These THUGS are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
Charlie retweeted the President’s words, adding ‘Moral of the story… don’t loot or thieve. SIMPLE’. The tweet was met with outrage by many fans, as he was criticised for speaking out about the looting but not about the killing of George Floyd.
The following day, Charlie shared a lengthy text post to Instagram apologising for his actions. He wrote: ‘About my post yesterday. It was absolutely not my intention to cause offence. Straight off, I want to say I am sorry and I did not understand the full picture of an incredibly serious situation. I don’t think my ignorance should be an excuse and I don’t want to make excuses. This is an apology.’
He continued: ‘I am probably the epitome of white privilege. I can’t change the world I was born in to but I can show & offer my full support. My every sympathy goes out to George Floyd’s family and every other family impacted by racial injustice.’
Meanwhile, Love Island 2019 winner Amber Gill has been using her platform to spread awareness of ways that her fans can support the Black Lives Matter movement, including sharing links to petitions, sites where donations can be made and phone numbers for US protesters to call if they are unlawfully arrested.
