"F*ck The System": The Rock World Reacts To The Death Of George Floyd

Many stars in the rock and metal community are speaking out against the horrific death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who passed away on Monday evening (May 25).

Following an arrest for alleged fraud, George was captured on video being knelt on by a white police officer for over seven minutes, repeatedly crying out, “I can’t breathe,” and stating, “My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts.” Despite onlookers protesting the policeman's behaviour and urging him to stop, George lost consciousness, and later died in custody.

After a 10-minute clip of the brutal incident was shared on social media, the four police officers involved – Derek Chauvin, who was at the centre of the death, plus Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng – were terminated from the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday.

However, protests have since been going on in the city (as well as other U.S. locations such as Los Angeles and Memphis) as thousands gather to demand justice for George, with many stars joining in the rally cry online, too.

"Fuck white privilege," wrote Machine Gun Kelly. "I’m ashamed someone who looks like me could treat another human like this, but they been doing it since the beginning of time. Our generation has be the one’s to stop it. My loyalty’s with the people. Fuck the system. Fight the system."

"Humanity was absent," added Sharon Osbourne. "Talk about George Floyd. Watch the video. Call the Minneapolis DA’s office 612-348-5550 and demand they press charges. Let’s not close our eyes and be complicit. Rest In Peace #georgefloyd #sayhisname."

In a series of videos on his Instagram stories, FEVER 333 frontman Jason Aalon Butler said, "It's heartbreaking, obviously for the man and his family, and the community and the culture, but there's an even bigger picture here that look a certain way, that fall within a certain demographic, that fear for their lives every day."