Rihanna has become the latest musician to speak out in regards to the latest mass shootings in the US, taking US President Donald Trump to task over his casual response.
Over the weekend, the United States suffered through two mass shootings, one in Texas and one in Ohio, leaving a total of 30 dead, and 51 injured as a result of the seperate incidents.
While the Texas shooting saw Blink-182 make headlines after being “locked down” in their hotel during the incident, widespread hate was also directed towards the suspect, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, who prepared a manifesto beforehand to explain how he was specifically attacking Latino and Hispanic Americas.
Although the usual cycle of “thoughts and prayers” has begun to do the rounds from those in positions of power, many citizens have begun to attack these same people for not labelling Crusius as a domestic terrorist.
However, the most notable of these instances can be attributed to Rihanna, who took to Instagram to slam US President Donald Trump over his response to the Texas shooting.
“Today’s shooting in El Paso, Texas, was not only tragic, it was an act of cowardice,” wrote Donald Trump in a series of messages on Twitter yesterday.
“I know that I stand with everyone in this Country to condemn today’s hateful act. There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people.”
However, Rihanna appeared to take issue with Trump’s classification of the act as simply an “act of cowardice”, taking to Instagram to note that “um… Donald, you spelt ‘terrorism’ wrong!”
“Your country had 2 terrorist attacks back to back, hours apart leaving almost 30 innocent people dead,” Rihanna explained.
“This, just days after yet another terrorist attack in California, where a terrorist was able to LEGALLY purchase an assault rifle (AK-47) in Vegas, then drive hours to a food festival in Cali leaving 6 more people dead including a young infant baby boy!
“Imagine a world where it’s easier to get an AK-47 than a VISA! Imagine a world where they build a wall to keep terrorists IN AMERICA!!!
“My prayers and deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims and the communities affected and traumatized, from Texas, California, and Ohio! I’m so sorry for your loss! Nobody deserves to die like this! NOBODY!”
While Donald Trump has not responded to Rihanna’s comments (as you would expect), the President isn’t the first one to draw the ire of celebrities for their muted responses.
In fact, noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was criticised by Smash Mouth, of all people, for overlooking the discussion that goes into mass shootings and instead focusing on other causes of death.
Check out ‘Same Ol’ Mistakes’ by Rihanna:
