Nailed It host Nicole Byer had a powerful response to a fan who told her in an Instagram comment that they would “keep their head down and just let their kids watch” the Netflix show instead of using the opportunity to teach them about racism.
Instead of criticizing the fan, Byer, 33, shared how the comment made her feel and explained how the Instagram user might consider broaching the topic of racism and the Black Lives Matter movement with their children. “That made me boo hoo hoo. That you will allow your kid to watch me but not stand up for me,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday, June 2. “So I’ll do the work I’ll write you a conversation to have with your white child.”
Byer noted that a “good way” to explain Black Lives Matter to kids is by relating it to someone they’re familiar with. Her advice to the fan was to tell their children, “‘You like this black lady right? She’s silly? She makes you tee hee hee? You would be sad if a police officer hurt her right?’ Well this is the current country we live in where someone you like can be hurt by the color of their skin and people in charge aren’t doing a f–king (you can replace that with dang if ya kids are soft) thing about it.”
The New Jersey native also shared a suggestion for how to talk to children about the police, especially given the current protests going on around the world in response to George Floyd’s death. “And nice cops? There are no nice cops because if a cop was nice they wouldn’t watch and participate in violence against black and brown people. If cops were really nice they would have spoken out about police brutality years ago and maybe walked out on their precincts to send a message that they are against this. Instead they dress up like your GI Joe doll and are very mean,” she wrote.
The Loosely Exactly Nicole alum continued, “The curfews the helicopters the police in riot gear is all because black people have asked to not be killed… that’s it. There’s literally nothing else to it.”
She concluded her powerful post by suggesting that the fan should use the opportunity to educate her children about “stuff that happens to black people that doesn’t get covered in schools,” such as Juneteenth, otherwise known as Freedom Day. “Post about the black history you teach your white kid to maybe inspire another white parent to do the same thing,” she wrote. “Raise kids who give a f–k and you gotta give a f–k #blacklivesmatter.”
Byers’ impactful message has since received more than 136,000 “likes” on Instagram and positive feedback from several celebrities who fully supported her statements.
“I love you so much!” Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi wrote. “And so does my kid!!”
Busy Philipps, Angela Kinsey, D’Arcy Carden and other stars shared an array of heart emojis as a show of solidarity and appreciation.
Byers’ comments come more than a week after Floyd, 46, died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee down on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. The incident was filmed in a now-viral video, which shows Floyd telling officers, “I can’t breathe.” Chauvin and the other three officers involved have now been arrested, as protests around the globe continue.
