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This weekend, actress Sydney Sweeney —who since 2019 has been playing Cassie Howards on the controversial HBO series Euphoria— trended on social media after posting a family photo for her mom’s birthday. Her followers quickly noticed a small detail in the last picture of the Instagram post: her dad was wearing a Blue Lives Matter movement t-shirt.
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Immediately, a wave of criticism flooded the comments section of the publication. Soon the debate moved to other social media such as Twitter. Different media outlets —such as Fox News, Forbes, CNN, and Vanity Fair— quickly covered the different reactions. Others, such as the entertainment blog Gawker, even published bizarre opinion pieces, such as the one titled What made you think Sydney Sweeney and her family were normal? where columnist Fran Hoepfner makes the following observation:
“Did people think Sweeney was a blonde actress who fixed up old trucks, like, in a “leftist” way? Anyone whose parents let them move to Hollywood to become a teen actor is probably weird, their family weirder, maybe racist, maybe not, but this is the ecosystem that brings us 16-year-olds who cry on command in soft-lit HBO miniseries.”
The 24-year-old actress tried to appease the waters, calling not to fall into assumptions after a birthday “innocent celebration”:
You guys this is wild. An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone ♥️ and Happy Birthday Mom!
— Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney) August 27, 2022
However, it was not enough to appease the bloodthirsty progressive hordes. Thus, her name was trending on Twitter after receiving thousands of comments calling her a racist. Black Lives Matter activist and author Frederick Joseph joined the criticism by claiming that her family “is obviously far-right” after photos of them wearing Blue Lives Matter apparel and Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Assumptions? Don’t gaslight your fans (many are likely young progressive people based on the content of the show that gave you fame). Your family is obviously far-right based on the blue lives matter shirts and MAGA babies. pic.twitter.com/Gwcm4YZduz
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) August 28, 2022
Blue Lives Matter
The Blue Lives Matter movement arose as a counterpoint to Black Lives Matter in defense of the rights of police officers in the face of the wave of hatred they faced at the time and to this day since then. According to its official website, the mission of this non-profit organization is based on three pillars:
- Raising awareness and enlisting the public’s help for the needs of police officers.
- To help police officers and assist each other.
- To provide police officers’ families with comfort and support during difficult times.
The Manichaeism that dominates the minds of progressives can be summed up in a phrase by the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez: “If you are not with me, you are against me.” Their logic only allows them to understand that whoever promotes this movement is a racist. Such was the case of the Sweeney family, who now see how their daughter, Sydney, is a victim of the hatred from those she publicly supported.
This is the most ironic aspect of the case. Sydney Sweeney’s followers went to the arduous task of meticulously reviewing her social media profiles to incriminate her but decided to ignore a tweet from 2020 where she expressly states her support for Black Lives Matter (BLM) and urges her followers to do the same.
we need to do better. the hate in this world needs to end. #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/vAflcIVEgC
— Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney) May 31, 2020
Sydney’s political position matters very little. If she differs from her “far-right” family, the truth is that they seem to coexist in an environment of respect and tolerance, very different from the one the left gave her. If, on the other hand, the actress does not believe in BLM and her tweet is one of the many cases of self-censorship we see in Hollywood to ingratiate herself with the masses, well, that would be very sad and cowardly on her part.
There is no room for diversity of thought in America anymore
This case is the latest example that American society is becoming increasingly polarized. A country where diversity of thought has no place and political tolerance is almost utopian. Those who call themselves “defenders of human rights” have forgotten the right to free speech and its implications. Or, perhaps, in their twisted minds, freedoms are only for a group of people.
This phenomenon has not only taken hold in the US but also in Latin America and, in general, in any country where progressivism has taken hold.
Cancel culture eminently harms democratic values and the defense of human dignity. One of the most worrisome aspects is Hollywood‘s self-censorship. When those who dare to differ from leftist ideas, being in the public arena, remain silent in the face of a lurking mass ready to “cancel” anyone who opposes them.
Let’s hope that Sydney and many others who have been let down by the movements they chose to support notice the contradictions between their postulates and the actions that actually bring out their totalitarian aspirations.
Victoria es estudiante de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas. Abocada a la defensa de la vida, la familia, la libertad religiosa y, en general, de la dignidad humana y los valores democráticos.