The 1975’s Matty Healy Accused of Using Black Lives Matter to Promote His Music
Click here to read the full article.
Matty Healy, frontman of U.K. band The 1975, has deactivated his Twitter after facing backlash for a tweet about the Black Lives Matter movement following the recent death of George Floyd.
In the now-deleted tweet posted on Thursday, the singer wrote, “If you truly believe that ‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ you need to stop facilitating the end of black ones.” Healy included a link to the band’s song “Love It if We Made It,” which features lyrics about racism and police brutality.
More from Variety
CNN Journalist, Crew Released After Arrest While Covering Minneapolis Unrest
Protestors Over George Floyd's Death Block Los Angeles Freeway
After many users online accused the artist of using the Black Lives Matter movement to promote his own music, Healy deleted the message and defended himself in another tweet, writing, “Sorry I did not link my song in that tweet to make it about me it’s just that the song is literally about this disgusting situation and speaks more eloquently than I can on Twitter.” He then posted his original message and a link to the video again, each separately — infuriating critics more — before finally deactivating his account entirely.
Floyd was an unarmed black man who died in police custody on Monday after a Minneapolis cop kneeled on his neck. On Tuesday, four police officers were fired for their involvement in the 46-year-old’s death after a video circulated online of the incident. Floyd was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead there.
Floyd’s death is currently being investigated by the FBI and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. During a press conference on Thursday, Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman said there is “other evidence” that does not support a criminal charge, although he added that he does not want to rush the investigation.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
