Jennifer Lawrence joins Twitter to demand justice for Breonna Taylor: "I cannot be silent"

Jennifer Lawrence has steered clear of social media for the most part, telling BBC Radio 1 in 2014 that she would “never get Twitter.” She softened on that at some point, revealing to InStyle a few years later that she does, in fact, use social media, but only to watch. “I’m a voyeur,” she said.

“There is always so much backlash,” she continued. “So many people are listening and paying attention, and they have so many opinions about absolutely everything. I really don’t want to welcome that unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t want to put myself out there for no reason.”

Well, she’s finally found her reason, and it’s a good one. Lawrence shared her first tweet as @JLawrence_RepUs on Tuesday, a clip from a short film starring Omar Epps and Desmond Meade that, per the actor, “explains how corruption has broken our criminal justice system—& what we can do to fix it.” (Watch the full film here.)

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The film comes from RepresentUs, an organization devoted to passing “powerful anti-corruption laws that stop political bribery, end secret money, and fix our broken elections.” Lawrence sits on the board of the organization alongside director Adam McKay and actor Ed Helms.

Lawrence’s follow-up tweet called for justice for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year old Black medical worker in Louisville who was shot at least eight times by police officers bursting into her home with a no-knock search warrant. Lawrence was born and raised near Louisville.

“No arrests have been made, the officers responsible for her death remain employed by the LMPD, and disturbingly, the LMPD’s own investigation report was woefully inaccurate,” Lawrence writes in a statement. “As a Louisvillian, as a human being, I cannot be silent.”

She continued: “I join all those who are speaking out against this grave injustice, calling upon Attorney General Daniel Cameron to take immediate action to hold those responsible for her death accountable… We must not allow the erasure of Black women to continue in America. As many activists and leaders have been imploring for years: #SayHerName.”

Looking for ways to advocate for Black lives? Check out this list of resources by our sister site Lifehacker for ways to get involved.

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