Since the death of George Floyd last week, protests have popped up daily across the nation and around the world. These protests have been for the large part peaceful, though some have turned violent. In some parts of America, heavily-armored police have gotten aggressive, to say the least, with protesters, and have made untold arrests every day. CNN’s Don Lemon chastised Hollywood for not saying much at all about the protests. Surely, he would be proud of a statement from Riverdale star Cole Sprouse, who revealed he’d been arrested on Sunday.
It happened in Santa Monica, which saw a large protest on Sunday. Sprouse was there, “standing in solidarity” with the protesters, but in his post he was quick to point out he didn’t want to make this about him, writing that “before the voracious horde of media sensationalism decides to somehow turn it about me, there’s a clear need to speak about the circumstances: Black Lives Matter.” Still, here’s what happened to him:
I was detained when standing in solidarity, as were many of the final vanguard within Santa Monica. We were given the option to leave, and were informed that if we did not retreat, we would be arrested. When many did turn to leave, we found another line of police officers blocking our route, at which point, they started zip tying us.
Sprouse used his platform to encourage others to get out and protest. “This is, and will be, a time about standing ground near others as a situation escalates, providing educated support, demonstrating and doing the right thing,” he wrote. “This is precisely the time to contemplate what it means to stand as an ally. I hope others in my position do as well.”
The actor also took umbrage with the way the media has been presenting the protests, that “by nature” they were “only going to show the most sensational, which only proves a long standing racist agenda.”
Sprouse’s full post can be read below:
A group of peaceful protesters, myself included, were arrested yesterday in Santa Monica. So before the voracious horde of media sensationalism decides to somehow turn it about me, there’s a clear need to speak about the circumstances: Black Lives Matter. Peace, riots, looting, are an absolutely legitimate form of protest. the media is by nature only going to show the most sensational, which only proves a long standing racist agenda. I was detained when standing in solidarity, as were many of the final vanguard within Santa Monica. We were given the option to leave, and were informed that if we did not retreat, we would be arrested. When many did turn to leave, we found another line of police officers blocking our route, at which point, they started zip tying us. It needs to be stated that as a straight white man, and a public figure, the institutional consequences of my detainment are nothing in comparison to others within the movement. This is ABSOLUTELY not a narrative about me, and I hope the media doesn’t make it such. This is, and will be, a time about standing ground near others as a situation escalates, providing educated support, demonstrating and doing the right thing. This is precisely the time to contemplate what it means to stand as an ally. I hope others in my position do as well. I noticed that there are cameras that roll within the police cruisers during the entirety of our detainment, hope it helps. I’ll speak no more on the subject, as I’m (1) not well versed enough to do so, (2) not the subject of the movement, and (3) uninterested in drawing attention away from the leaders of the #BLM movement. I will be, again, posting the link in my story to a comprehensive document for donations and support.