As anger grew at footage showing a police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he died, the singer Thursday tweeted a two-minute clip of her son, David Banda, dancing to Michael Jackson’s song “They Don’t Care About Us.”
She wrote in the caption: “Brutal murder travels around the world my son David Dances to honor and pay tribute to George and His Family and all Acts of Racism and Discrimination that happen on a daily basis in America. #davidbanda #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd #MichaelJackson.”
But the hitmaker was mocked by several commentators for an insensitive response to the story, which has
sparked protests in a number of major cities.“Nobody asked Madonna to weigh in today. Not a soul. Unforced errors among public figures have been rampant this month,” wrote April Ryan, a political reporter and the creator of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign.
TV writer Akilah Green added that the video was “worse than that Pepsi can,” referring to
an infamous 2017 commercial starring Kendall Jenner that used protest imagery to market the soft drink.
Several other commenters jokingly thanked Madonna for “ending racism.”
Video footage of Floyd’s death has sparked more painful conversation about the use of force by US police against African Americans and led to the
firing of police officer Derek Chauvin. Protesters have called for the officers involved to face criminal charges and protests broke out in several cities on Thursday evening.
The latest video is not the first time Madonna has been criticized for making an awkward piece of social commentary in recent weeks.
In March, the singer
told fans that Covid-19 is “the great equalizer” while lying in a milky bath sprinkled with rose petals.
CNN has contacted Madonna’s representatives for comment.
