George Floyd protests: Jamie Foxx addresses US crowd over police brutality

‘They have to be worried that, “I could go to jail for this”’

Jamie Foxx called for a “deterrent” to be introduced to prevent police brutality as he addressed a Black Lives Matter protest.

The Just Mercy star has taken part in peaceful rallies against police violence across the US and told crowds in San Francisco that police should face consequences for violence following the death of George Floyd.

Saying that he was “running out” of ways to tell his daughter and nephews to behave around police officers, Foxx said: “It shouldn’t be that way. It shouldn’t be that way in America 2020.

“What I am saying is there has to be a deterrent,” he continued. “If that man can be handcuffed and that man can sit on that man’s neck for that long and feel comfortable about it, that means he’s not afraid of what is going to happen.

“We have to change the language. They have to be worried that, ‘I could go to jail for this’. They have to respect us. They have to love us.”

Foxx then encouraged demonstrators to “keep the pressure”, adding: “We’re peaceful but we are aggressive. We are aggressive.”

Last week, the actor defended Jimmy Fallon after a video emerged of him wearing blackface on Saturday Night Live in 2000.

Speaking about the controversy, Foxx wrote: “He was doing an impression of Chris Rock. It wasn’t blackface. We comedians. I know it’s a tough time right now. But this one is a stretch.”

He continued: “Let this one go. We got bigger fish to fry.”