According to a filmmaker and activist, Jay-Z and Beyonce have been quietly supporting the #blacklivesmatter protest movement in numerous ways, including by providing “tens of thousands of dollars” in bail money to help get arrested protestors out of jail.
dream hampton, a writer, editor, and filmmaker, appears to know the couple well; she helped Jay-Z write his autobiography. Last night, she posted a brief rant to Twitter, responding to all the people who criticize the power couple for not giving back enough. According to hampton, that’s not the case at all; in fact, Jay-Z and Beyonce helped provide infrastructure support to the movement, as well as bail money for protestors who had been arrested, she said — they just like to keep their contributions quiet. (Maybe that’s why hampton deleted her tweets soon after she posted them!)
We’ve heard that an anonymous donor paid the outrageously high $500,000 bail for one protestor; even though there’s no evidence connecting the two stories, I like to imagine Beyonce was behind that one, too.
Protesters don’t need to be bailed out of jail. Criminals do. Looters do.
Let’s use accurate words.