Riverdale star Cole Sprouse has revealed that he was arrested while participating in a Black Lives Matter protest in Santa Monica. In a lengthy Instagram post, Sprouse said he and a group of others were arrested yesterday, having refused police demands to vacate an area, whilst also suggesting that they made it impossible for those who chose to leave to do so.
Taking to social media, here’s what he shared:
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.
The actor is just the latest prominent figure to voice their own experience with the movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, with many like Sprouse choosing to actively participate in protests. Other responses have included Seth Rogen’s dedicated (and expletive-laden) sniping on Instagram, Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively donating $200,000 towards NAACP Legal Defence Fund and Floyd Mayweather offering to pay for George Floyd’s funeral (an offer which has been accepted). The number of stories are multitudinous and those barely scratch the surface.
For a group of people so often perceived to live in some kind of wealth-coated LA bubble (not entirely unfair), this crisis has pulled celebrities into the nation’s state of total-activitism like nothing else I can remember. Of course, many will pull the “who cares” card on these declarations of support. So what if Cole Sprouse is protesting? Cole Sprouse, that kid from The Suite Life? Remember The Suite Life of Zack and Cody? He was the lesser Martin anyway. But I find it striking that people of all creeds, no matter how glitzy, are putting themselves in harm’s way for this. Standing up for your neighbor’s rights isn’t something to be sniffed at, whomever is doing so.
If you’ve got any thoughts on Sprouse’s statements, leave a comment below. Far more than usual, I implore you to choose your words with care. These are impassioned times.
