Ashton Kutcher fought back tears as he took to social media Tuesday night to explain how the “all lives matter” phrasing deeply undermines the importance of the “Black Lives Matter” movement. In the days since the death of George Floyd, an African American man murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer, protests across the country fighting back against police brutality and underlying white supremacy have led to heated debates across social media, particularly with benighted critics assuming the Black Lives Matter movement is divisive. But as Kutcher explains, the phrasing behind “all lives matter” is being misused within a larger context of race as many are “missing the point.”
View this post on Instagramunderstanding why saying โall lives matterโ is missing the point. #blacklivesmatter
“So, on Saturday, I posted a blackout of my social media channels and just posted ‘BLM’ and a lot of folks responded, ‘All Lives Matter,’” Kutcher said while sitting in his home amid quarantine and social distancing practices. “And, I want to talk about that a little bit because I don’t think the people that are posting ‘All Lives Matter’ should be canceled. I think they should be educated.”
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The Ranch and That ’70s Show alum went on to share how an exchange between himself, his wife, Mila Kunis, and their two children, Wyatt and Dimitri, inspired him to speak out about the contentious, non-political debate. “We all agree all lives matter. But I had a really poignant experience tonight when I was putting my kids down to bed that lent the words for why black lives matter,” he shared. “So, usually Mila and I put our kids to bed and we read them a book and our daughter always gets to go first.”
Kutcher went on to say as they were reading his 5-year-old daughter’s book before bedtime, his 3-year-old son interjects, inquiring why he can’t read first. “Mila said, ‘Because girls go first,’” the dad-of-two continues. “And [Dimitri] said, ‘Yeah, but boys go first.’ And I looked at him and I said, ‘No, girls go first.’ And I said, ‘You know why girls go first? For you and me, girls go first. And the reason why is, for some boys, girls don’t get a go at all. And so for you and me, girls go first.’”
The 42-year-old concluded his message on an inspiring note, emphasizing how it’s crucial to stand in solidarity with the black community in light of all the injustices they have experienced over the years. “So when it comes to Black Lives Matter, I think what folks that are writing ‘All Lives Matter’ need to understand is that for some peopleโฆblack lives don’t matter at all,” he said while fighting back tears. “So for us, black lives matter. So, while you may have the best intentions in saying, ‘All Lives Matter,’ remember: For some people, black lives don’t matter at all.”
The actor and philanthropist’s message received an outpouring of love from a plethora of celebrity friends and fans, encouraging the actor to continue to speak up for the movement. Kutcher’s comments come fresh off on the heels of ongoing protests around the world following the death of Floyd, who died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin โ who has since been arrested and charged โ knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on May 25.