U.S. ATHLETES VOICE SUPPORT FOR FARMERS

Yashwant Raj letters@hindustantimes.com

WASHINGTON: Support for farmers protesting against the Centre’s three new farm laws grew among celebrities in the US, with various sportspersons also backing the agitation on Thursday. “Happy to share that I’ve donated $10,000 to provide medical assistance to the farmers in need in India to help save lives during these times,” John Sherman “Juju” Smith-schuster, of the National Football League team Pittsburg Steelers, tweeted, with the hash-tagged #Farmersprotest. Smith-schuster’s twitter account has 1.1 million followers. “Should be talking about this!” tweeted Kyle Kuzma of the LA Lakers, with a link to a CNN news report on the protests. Kuzma also used the hashtag #Farmersprotest, being used by celebs around the world, including pop-star Rihanna and the Swedish environmentalist Great Thunberg. The celebrities join a growing number of people worldwide who are weighing in with their support of the protesting farmers, including Meena Harris, a lawyer and niece of the US Vicepresident Kamla Harris. John Cusack, a Hollywood star, and Hasan Minhaj, a comedian of Indian descent, also joined in. Cusack began tweeting in support of the farmers much before Rihanna’s tweet turned the protests into an international trend.