Chrissy Teigen, Janelle Monáe, & Other Stars Help Pay Bail For Protestors

Celebs are matching each other’s donations to help get protestors out of jail

Many celebrities have stepped up to give money to help pay the bail of those who’ve been arrested across the country as people protest the death of George Floyd and police brutality.

Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, died after a former officer, Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeled on his neck for several minutes while he lay handcuffed on the street begging for his life. Chauvin has been charged with Floyd’s murder, but the other three officers who stood by doing nothing to help the man and seen at times also kneeling on Floyd have not been arrested. Since Monday, cities across the country have erupted with protests (many of which have turned violent) and hundreds have been arrested as a result.

Many celebrities have spoken out about Floyd’s murder, and have begun donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a nonprofit that helps pay bail for those who cannot post it on their own, as well as other organizations helping protestors or those impacted as a result of store closings. Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Janelle Monáe, Chrissy Teigen, Jameela Jamil, and Don Cheadle were just some of the celebs donating and asking others to match their donations on social media.

Teigen made her donation in honor of a Trump tweet saying he was celebrating, “MAGA night in the White H0use,” whatever that means. “In celebration of whatever the fuck maga night is, I am committed to donating $100,000 to the bail outs of protestors across the country,” which she quickly raised to $200,000. She didn’t mention which charity she’d be putting her money but we’re pretty sure she knows what she’s doing.

Actress Jameela Jamil posted a screenshot of her $1,000 donation along with a message for other celebrities with means to do the same. “Celebrity accounts that follow me please match and pass it on,” she wrote.

“With solemn gratitude, we have been flooded with tens of thousands donations large and small, totaling around $20 million dollars. We did not ask for or anticipate this massive outpouring of support. We simply said yes to the call to support and bail out people jailed for protesting for justice for George Floyd,” Minnesota Freedom Fund said in part on its website.

Floyd’s brother set up a GoFundMe to “cover funeral and burial costs, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for court proceedings.” A portion of the money will also go to the Estate of George Floyd “for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.” To date, it has already raised over $7 million.”My family and I watched in absolute horror as the now infamous and horrifying video began to spread quickly throughout social media,” the Floyd family said. “What we saw on that tape left us shell shocked; a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling directly on my brother’s neck, obstructing his ability to breathe.”

With over 4,000 arrested across the US and many more likely as protests continue, here’s hoping more celebrities step up and help out.