Over the last week, America has had to directly face multiple incidents of police brutality. The ongoing murder trial for former police officer Derek Chauvin reminded the country of the horrific, public killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota last May.
Then just miles away from where Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nine minutes as the victim was held down on the ground, unarmed 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter on April 11 when the 26-year veteran of the force fired her gun at Wright instead of her Taser. Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter.
This week also saw footage of Black/Latino Army Lt. Caron Nazario being held at gunpoint, pepper-sprayed, and harassed during a traffic stop in Windsor, Virginia go viral. The incident took place on December 5, but Nazario filed a federal lawsuit against Windsor officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker earlier this month.
With all three of those stories making national news at the moment, Hip Hop superstar Cardi B had a question for her right-leaning critics on social media. The Invasion of Privacy hitmaker called out verified Republican Twitter users that she believes have remained silent on the issue of excessive police violence.
“Ya been real [quiet]. Twitter Blue-check Republicans are a f##### joke. I don’t ever want to see yaa ranting on celebrities, athletes until yall address what’s REALLY WRONG IN AMERICA!” tweeted the 28-year-old, Bronx-raised Afro-Latina on Wednesday.
That tweet was accompanied by a 1-minute selfie video where Cardi continued to question online conservatives who are not willing to use their platform to combat systemic racism. She said, “Where the f### are you Twitter blue-check Republicans at? Y’all are the loudest on this m############ app. Y’all not saying nothing. Y’all not complaining. Y’all blame everything on what’s wrong in America besides the police.”
Ya been real quit .Twitter Blue check Republicans are a f##### joke .I don’t ever want to see yaa ranting on celebrities,athletes until yall address what’s REALLY WRONG IN AMERICA ! pic.twitter.com/z3Lyf1GGZb
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) April 14, 2021
Cardi has been a favorite target of online right-wingers, particularly Donald Trump supporters. Back in 2019, she famously threatened to “dog walk” Tomi Lahren when the conservative political commentator took issue with the rapper endorsing Democratic candidates. They also sparred on social media again in 2020 after George Floyd’s death.
Pro-Trump pundit Candace Owens feuded with Cardi for weeks on Twitter. Owens slammed Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s performance of “WAP” at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony. The 31-year-old Republican pushed a fear-mongering campaign that claimed “WAP” was leading to the fall of the American empire.
In addition, Cardi B also clapped back at a longshot Republican California gubernatorial candidate who criticized her for not allowing her 2-year-old daughter Kulture to listen to “WAP.” However, after her latest history-making single “Up” rose to #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in March, Cardi thanked “insane conservatives” for publicizing her Grammy performance which helped raise the streaming numbers for “Up.”
