They don’t call him Dwayne “The One Take King†Johnson for nothing (they don’t call him that). On Wednesday evening, The Rock posted an impassioned, powerful, eight-and-a-half-minute video to his Twitter and Instagram, captioned, “Where are you?†As many other celebrities have done over the past week, Johnson used his platform to share his support for the Black Lives Matter protests that have sprung up nationwide after the police killing of George Floyd. In the video, he makes a call for a compassionate leader who will listen to and support his constituents’ peaceful protests for black Americans’ right to not be brutalized by police. The Rock never once calls out Donald Trump by name, but his repeated calls for real, compassionate leadership get his point plainly across:
“Where are you? Where is our leader at this time? At this time when our country is down on its knees begging, pleading, hurt, angry, frustrated, in pain, begging and pleading with its arms out just wanting to be heard. Begging and pleading and praying for change. Where are you? Where is our compassionate leader who is going to step up to our country who is down on its knees and extend a hand and say ‘You stand up. Stand up with me. Stand up with me, because I’ve got you. I’ve got you. I’ve got you, I hear you, I’m listening to you and you have my word that I’m going to do everything in my power, till my dying day, to my last breath to do everything I can to create the change that’s needed, to normalize equality because black lives matter.’ Where are you?â€
Johnson goes on to say that “of course†all lives matter “because we, as Americans, believe in inclusivity, we believe in acceptance, we believe in human rights, we believe in equality for all,†but that during “this defining, pivotal, explosive moment where our country is down on its knees, the floorboards of our country are becoming unhinged in this moment, we must say the words: Black Lives Matter.†Johnson also decries “military force that has been deployed on our own people. Looters? Yes. Criminals? Absolutely. But on protesters, who are begging and pleading, protesters who are in pain.†He shakes his head, “No.â€
Johnson continues, “Like the majority of Americans, I’m not a politician and I’ve never been elected to office, and I’m not the president of the United States,†but encourages Americans to “become our own leaders, because we’re doing it now.†He concludes by asking again, “Where are you? Where is that compassionate leader who steps up and takes accountability for his country and all of the people in our country? Where are you?†and saying, “You can feel it across our country, change is happening. It’s going to take time. We’re going to get beat up, we’re going to take our lumps, there’s going to be blood, but the process of change has already begun. You guys stay strong. We’ve got this.â€