(AllHipHop News) St. Louis rapper Nelly’s home state has been embroiled in protests for over a week. The town of Ferguson has been the site of ongoing demonstrations stemming from the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the hands of a local police officer. The Country Grammar creator recently showed support for the slain teenager at a charity event in Los Angeles.
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While attending Chris Brown and Quincy Combs’ celebrity flag football game, Nelly asked the crowd in attendance to stand up and put their hands in the air. The “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture has come to symbolize the reported last moments of Brown’s life before he was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
“If I could get everybody to rise and just raise their hands in support for everything that’s going on back home in my city right now at this minute,” said Nelly. “If anybody can sympathize with what my city is going through, it’s this city of L.A. right now. On so many levels.”
Other celebrities at the game included The Game, Wale, Trey Songz, Shad Moss, Lil Mama, Tyrese, Jermaine Dupri, and Omarion.
Nelly had faced some criticism for not speaking on the Ferguson situation earlier. Five days after the shooting, he finally addressed it during an interview with a local radio station. His appearance mostly focused on him stating he waited to say anything in public about Brown’s death until he was able to speak the family, criticizing the looting that took place in the city, and expressing that he was “p###” about what happened.
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Watch Nelly’s appearance at CB and Comb’s celebrity flag football game below.