Cher Shared Some Thoughts on George Floyd. It Didn't Go Well

Singer tweeted that 'maybe if I'd been there ... I could've helped'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 3, 2021 8:30 AM CDT
Cher Tweet About George Floyd Draws Ire
In this image from video, Cher performs during a 'We the People' concert on Jan. 17, 2021.   (Biden Inaugural Committee via AP)

Cher is known for expressing deep feelings about a variety of subjects, including helping animals and offering assistance to the troubled US Postal Service. Some, however, are now saying she should've kept her latest thoughts to herself. As the murder trial continues for Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, the 74-year-old singer and actress took to Twitter to express her distress at what happened to Floyd, and to speculate on what may have happened if she herself had been on the scene on May 25, 2020. In a Friday tweet that was erratically capitalized and punctuated (Cher's signature formatting on Twitter), she said she'd been chatting with her mom, who revealed she'd started crying while watching Chauvin's trial.

Cher then tried to commiserate. "I said 'Mom, I know this is gonna sound CRAZY, but ... I kept thinking ... maybe if I'd been there ... I could've helped," she posted. Per Newsweek—which notes Cher has shared her thoughts about the George Floyd killing and Chauvin's trial before—the tweet soon went viral, though probably not for the reasons she'd like. Fox News notes that although some fans understood where she was coming from, others were miffed she was trying to center herself in the narrative and imply she would've been a "white savior" able to do what other bystanders (especially Black ones) couldn't. "This is significantly underplaying what witnesses who testified TRIED to do to stop his death," one commenter posted. "Singing songs doesn't erase racism, Cher." Others defended her intent, if not the tweet itself. "I think she is trying to express sadness but it came off the wrong way," one commenter noted. (More Cher stories.)

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