Comedian and actress Amanda Seales often says what a lot of us are thinking. Recently, the actress and comedian went on Instagram to call out white celebrities who are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and Ahmaud Arbery through social media posts, but turn off their comments sections on these specific posts.
Her observation and subsequent comments about the matter were sparked by a post from Justin Timberlake. The musician recently posted a black-and-white photo of the unarmed 25-year-old black man, who was fatally shot during a confrontation in February, writing: “If you’re not outraged, you should be. Justice for #AhmaudArbery.” However, his comments section is turned off, presumably in order to avoid trolls and racist rhetoric from flying in the comments section.
Seales decided to use the opportunity as a teachable moment for Timberlake and others like him. She performed a rendition of Teddy Pendergrass’ “Turn Off The Lights” called “Turn On The Comments.”
“Dedicated to @justintimberlake and the white artists showing ‘solidarity’ posting about #ahmaudarbery but closing their comments/IG replies,” she wrote in the caption. “Ain’t no half steppin. This is how you ally. You get in the weeds with your fans who are also fans of racist rhetoric. #TURNEMON.”
“See, I turned off my comments because I got tired of arguing with racists,” she sings in the video. “But you know what? It’s your turn...It’s time for you to see who’s been following you. They gonna show ya, show ya true colors.”
She also said that black celebrities deal with trolling on a daily basis, and if white celebrities are going to stand with black people in solidarity, they should also have to deal with some of the repercussions from those who are not supportive.
“A whole lot of racists,” she continues. “A whole lot of privilege saying ‘I don’t see color’ over and over again…I said turn ‘em on. You wanna be down, well, let’s see what you’re about.”