Adele tells protesters to keep their focus

SINGER LATEST CELEBRITY TO SPEAK OUT OVER US VIOLENCE

ADELE has become the latest celebrity to condemn police violence against black people following the death of George Floyd.

Protesters have taken to the streets in cities around the world – including London, New York and Los Angeles – amid fury over Mr Floyd’s death after a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on his neck for several minutes.

Adele shared a picture of Mr Floyd and called for the movement against police violence not to get “disheartened, hijacked or manipulated right now”.

She wrote on Instagram: “George Floyd’s murder has sent shockwaves around the world. Protests and marches are happening all over the globe simultaneously and only gaining momentum.

“So be righteously angered but be focused! Keep listening, keep asking and keep learning!

“It’s important we don’t get disheartened, hijacked or manipulated right now. This is about systematic racism, this is about police violence and it’s about inequality. And this isn’t only about America! Racism is alive and well everywhere.

“I wholeheartedly stand in solidarity with the fight for freedom, liberation and justice.”

Adele added the hashtags #blacklivesmatter, #georgefloyd and #saytheirnames.

The US has been home to the worst clashes, with demonstrators battling police in cities across the country. Looting has broken out while curfews have been imposed in a bid to quell the trouble.

British star John Boyega, inset, said he does not want to “work in fear” when he is in the US.

The Star Wars actor said he has “family and friends there who could be any one of the victims of things that don’t change”.

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have donated more than £160,000 to a civil rights organisation in response to the protests while Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have previously pledged money to help pay for the bail of arrested protesters.

Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo held back tears as she revealed to listeners she missed her show on Monday over Mr Floyd’s death. The London-born presenter, who has Ghanaian heritage, said her mental health had been “in a really bad way” over the weekend.

Amfo, 36, said: “As you know at Radio 1 we talk a lot about mental health and mine was in a really bad way yesterday.

“Now, I didn’t have the mental strength to face you guys yesterday to ask: ‘Hi, how was your weekend?’ like I usually do with my happy intention, because I know that my weekend was terrible. I was sat on my sofa crying, angry, confused and also knowing...”

After a lengthy pause, she added: “Stuck at the news of yet another brutalised black body.”