‘Insecure’ Actor Kendrick Sampson Gets Hit By Rubber Bullets During Los Angeles Protest
HBO star Kendrick Sampson spoke about the violence he endured during a protest in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 30.
According to Variety, Sampson — who is mostly known for his role as Nathan on Insecure — was hit with rubber bullets as he was protesting the death of George Floyd. During the demonstration, Sampson recorded the events via Instagram live. He said he wanted to use his platform to show live footage of what was happening while he was on the frontlines. In the video, he was also shown on a broadcast as the protests were happening. While he was on-air, fans of the actor watched as he was repeatedly hit with a baton by a police officer. In addition to being hit with a baton, Sampson revealed to his followers that he had been shot multiple times before throughout the day.
“They shot me four times already. I already got hurt and I got hit with a baton,” Sampson shared with his 561,000 followers. “Y’all ain’t see no police f*cking up white folks when they took guns to the statehouse. Y’all didn’t see police attacking white folks, beating em up with batons, shooting them with rubber bullets when they brought guns to f*cking statehouses. We came up here with no weapons, with masks and we’re the ones who are not peaceful.”
More than 5,000 viewers watched Sampson’s attack on Instagram. Sampson joined thousands of protesters who decided to stand up for justice for Floyd over the weekend. He said that, initially, the protest was intended to be a peaceful one. The actor shared that the people who attended the protest discussed issues affecting the community and talked about defunding the police department as a result of Floyd’s death.
Although Sampson’s efforts had a negative result, he was joined by several notable entertainers who also wanted to fight for justice. Matt McGorry, Halsey, Tinashe, Yungblud, and Machine Gun Kelly also attended protests in Los Angeles. Additionally, multiple celebrities have used their social media platforms to speak out against police brutality over the past few days.
On Monday, May 25, Floyd was pronounced dead after former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The protest in West Hollywood was a demonstration involving Sampson’s Build Power initiative and was in partnership with Black Lives Matter at Pan Pacific Park. Since the news of Floyd’s death, multiple protests have taken place in cities like Cleveland, New York and Atlanta.
