Roses are red, violets are blue…

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When Sally Met Sally.

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“When we aren’t asking people to destroy things in our name and people do it anyway, we know that this is something that’s going to blow back on us,” one black activist told BuzzFeed News.

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A number of NBA players participated in protests over the weekend as the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery sparked nationwide protests of police brutality towards the black community.

Some, like Stephen Jackson and Jaylen Brown, served as organizers in Minneapolis and Atlanta, while others like Tobias Harris, Malcolm Brogdon, Enes Kanter, Marcus Smart, and more were spotted on the streets of their various cities to support the movement and protest peacefully. Even more players, coaches, owners, and teams have issued statements on the killings, with some taking stronger stances than others, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver offered an internal memo applauding players stepping up and speaking out and also encouraging team leadership and ownership to take this time to listen and learn as their majority black rosters speak on the injustice they face.

The NBA Coaches Association likewise issued a statement on Monday following a call over the weekend that had all 30 head coaches on it, calling its leaders to action. The statement says “police brutality, racial profiling, and the weaponization of racism are shameful, inhumane and intolerable,” and promises that its coaches will use their platform and power to affect change in their communities.

It’s a very forceful statement and an important one, as, like they say early in the statement, the NBA’s coaches oversee rosters that are the majority black and, as such, their players are affected heavily by this issue, both in the emotional toll of seeing the likes of Floyd killed by police and in dealing with profiling and the threat of police violence in their day-to-day life. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the 30 coaches will meet yet again on a call on Tuesday to discuss further plans of action, as Atlanta’s Lloyd Pierce is among those leading the way.

Pierce has long been a staunch advocate of civil rights, and so it’s not a surprise he’s taking a leading role in rallying his fellow coaches to step into their communities and put in the work to try and affect change.

For some time now, Gunna had been getting ready for a livestream performance in honor of the release of his new album, Wunna. While this past weekend may not have seemed like the most appropriate time to celebrate anything, Gunna decided not to cancel or postpone the performance. Instead, the show went on, and all proceeds from it went to benefit George Floyd’s family. The rapper was joined by a live band for the performance, which took place on the terrace of a Los Angeles mansion.

Ahead of the performance, Gunna shared his thoughts about the state of our country, writing on Instagram, “This live performance has been scheduled weeks , I was goin to cancel it due to the circumstances of our country! But I also want to speak on it and didn’t kno how to start..I never saw my city like this ! I feel our pain I want to fight for our rights ! But I don’t want US To destroy our own communities! the police have been killing us for years and still are and we should come together around that cause! this live performance is for all the black lives lost to the hands of police murders. We will be sending all the funds raised here to the organizations that support the cause. #georgefloyd #justiceforgeorgefloyd.”

It was a big weekend for Gunna, as it was revealed that Wunna debuted in the top spot of the Billboard 200 chart.

Watch the full performance above.

As the world mourns the death of George Floyd, LL Cool J is the latest musician to speak up against police brutality. In an emotional rap posted to social media, Cool J detailed his experience as a Black man in America.

Maintaining eye contact with the camera, Cool J delivered several emotional verses outlining the injustices that have sparked protests around the country:

“After Chauvin killed George Floyd, we got necks / Molotov cocktails, anarchy on the set / The rich took the loot, so now we look sh*t / Feeling like a caged tiger that’s whipped to do tricks / That’s why I started fires and yelled and threw bricks / They tried to run me over and arrest me and sh*t / Tased, pepper-sprayed, in a cage with the kid / They ran up in the statehouse with the AK’s real quick / But let a n***** try to do that white boy sh*t / Won’t be no rubber bullets ricocheting of ribs / But the white supremacists go in the cops’ faces and spit. […]

Harassed by cops, word to my ancestors’ souls / And watching that man die slow left a hole / He cried for his momma as the murder unfold / If it wasn’t for those phones, Chauvin would be at home / Feeling justified because of George’s skin tone / I’m telling those with melanin, you’re not alone / The new Malcolm, Martin, and Marcus’ are now grown / America is a graveyard full of Black men’s bones / And I ain’t gotta tell ya that Breonna Taylor got played in her own home. […]

So, yeah, you right / We should protect our second amendment rights / Because in a second a dirty cop could kick the door in at night / A truth for a truth and a life for a life / We refuse to live in hell while you’re living in paradise / Being Black in America is like rolling a pair of dice.”

Watch LL Cool J deliver his full rap above.

In response to the death of George Floyd, the music industry is coming together for “Black Out Tuesday,” a day on which record labels, artists, and other entities will go radio silent. The black out is set to take place tomorrow, June 2.

These companies and people have made their announcements with similarly spirited messages on social media, and the one from Warner Records reads:

“This Tuesday, June 2nd, all of Warner Music Group including Warner Records will observe ‘Black Out Tuesday.’ We will support our employees, artists, and global community.

The music business at WMG will not go on as usual.

While this is only one day, we are committed to continuing the fight for real change. We will be using this day to collectively reflect on what we as a company can do to put action towards change and we will be taking steps in the coming weeks and months.

As part of this, we will be contributing to Black Lives Matter and other organizations that are doing crucial work to combat racial injustice.”

Participating labels include Interscope, Def Jam, Eminem’s Shady Records, Columbia Records, Capitol Music Group, and many others. Artists and industry figures are also putting a pause on their activities: Tim Burgess has postponed listening parties, and Apple Music’s Ebro Darden noted, “All of my shows are cancelled. I will air replays of conversations with community activists, politicians and revolutionary music.”

Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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The National’s Aaron Dessner was the target of a bizarre false claim Sunday. The musician was mistakenly identified as an organizer of the group Antifa, and claims began circulating on social media that Dessner was inciting violence at protests. But the musician was quick to squash the false reports and offered his support to those protesting police brutality.

A video circulated Sunday of a man in Columbus, Ohio appearing to direct protesters. The man in the video held a similar look to that of Dessner, and many began to call for his arrest.

Addressing the claims in a post on social media, Dessner denied the reports and said he is isolating with his family in the rural countryside but ‘fully’ supports the protests:

“This morning I’ve woken up to the unpleasant and surprising news that I’ve been misindentified by some social media users as someone seen encouraging rioting in Columbus, Ohio — I am not the person some are suggesting I am. Nor have I been in Ohio since June 2019. However I do FULLY support peaceful protests and activism against endemic racism and racially motivated violence in this country, which somehow continues generation after generation after generation. Like so many, I’m hoping for peaceful resolution and actual progress addressing these persistent issues in our society.”

Read Dessner’s full response above.

The world of wrestling has lost another star far too soon as Danny Havoc, best known for his work in Combat Zone Wrestling and Game Changer Wrestling, has died. He was only 34 years old. In a social media post about his passing, GCW described Havoc as, “an elite performer that entertained a generation of fans & inspired a generation of aspiring performers,” with CZW agreeing that he was an, “inspiration to so many and a friend to all.”

Havoc (real name Grant Berkland) began his career in CZW in 2005, and would go on to win the company’s Tournament of Death in both 2008 and 2013. He also held the CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship, won CZW’s World Tag Team Championships on two occasions, and had one run with the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He announced his retirement from the sport at 2019’s tournament, but returned to work for GCW in February.

Below you can see some of the messages that have begun pouring in from Havoc’s friends and peers, including stars from WWE, NXT, AEW, and Impact Wrestling.

We’d also like to send our thoughts and condolences to Danny’s family and friends. Between this and the tragic passings of Shad Gaspard and Hana Kimura, this has been a really heartbreaking couple of weeks. Rest in peace to Danny Havoc.