KJ Apa claps back at Elijah Daniel over his "silence" on Black Lives Matter

16 June 2020, 12:38

KJ Apa teases huge surprises to come in Riverdale season 5

By Jazmin Duribe

"I support Black lives – but I don't feel it's necessary to prove to people I do by posting my attendance at these protests."

KJ Apa has responded to criticism of his silence on the Black Lives Matter movement after being called out by Elijah Daniel.

Following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, people have called upon celebrities and brands to publicly stand against police brutality and racism, resulting in protests, the Pull Up or Shut Up (or Pull Up for Change) challenge and Blackout Tuesday.

READ MORE: Vanessa Morgan calls out Riverdale for not giving black actors storylines

The YouTuber questioned the Riverdale star for not being vocal about his stance on the movement considering his role in The Hate U Give, a 2018 movie that focuses on police brutality.

Basically, it all started when Elijah suggested that his followers watch 13th. The Netflix documentary analyses the criminalisation of African Americans and the US prison system. In response, a fan wrote: "YOU SHOULD ALSO WATCH THE HATE YOU GIVE!"

Elijah then replied: "i love that movie but i do have a question, completely unrelated to the beef i formerly had with him, if KJ was the co-star of that movie why is he so silent? he has such a massive young audience and got paid to be in a movie about police brutality and ... posted a black square? [sic]"

KJ was one of many Instagram users that posted a black square on their Instagram feeds in support of Black Lives Matter on June 2. He also shared a snippet of Tupac Shakur's captivating speech during the 1993 Indiana Black Expo to his Instagram Story.

KJ responded to Elijah's tweet, and said: "I don’t need to post about my opinions and beliefs in order for them to be real to me. I support Black lives – but I don’t feel it’s necessary to prove to people I do by posting my attendance at these protests."

While it's not paramount that you post on social media, people thought that KJ choosing to not use his platform to be more vocal about racism, but instead reply to Elijah, was telling.

Now if you remember, KJ and Elijah have history. In 2018, Elijah attacked Riverdale fans and said the show "sucks". KJ then clapped back with, "Do your fans know that you’re a fucking idiot or do they just not care?" Ashleigh Murray, who played Josie McCoy in The CW series, also got into a spat with Elijah over his tweets.

READ MORE: KJ Apa just dragged Elijah Daniel for saying Riverdale "sucks"

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