Gayle King breaks down on live TV while discussing death of George Floyd after white cop knelt on his neck, as she leads big names speaking out and says it 'feels like open season' on black men in America
Gayle King broke down on live TV as she warned that it 'feels to me like open season' on black men in America after footage emerged of a white cop kneeling on the neck of a black man who then passed out and died.
George Floyd was filmed Monday begging the Minneapolis cop to stop and telling him he could not breathe before he lost consciousness after officers arrested him for allegedly trying to use forged documents at a local deli.
King led celebrities and politicians Tuesday in voicing outrage over his death, with many taking to social media demanding the police officers involved are arrested and that the US tackles what many regard as 'systemic' racism against young African-American men.
Gayle King broke down on CBS This Morning Tuesday as she warned that it 'feels to me like open season' on black men in America after footage emerged of a white cop kneeling on the neck of a black man who then passed out and died
An emotional King said she was 'speechless' and that 'this is really too much for me today' before she asked her co-hosts to step in to take over talking about the shocking incidents
King's voice broke on CBS This Morning Tuesday after she watched the horrifying footage of Floyd's death followed by another video of a racist incident in Central Park, New York, where white investment banker Amy Cooper called 911 to report an 'African-American man threatening her life' when he simply asked her to leash her dog.
An emotional King said she was 'speechless' and that 'this is really too much for me today' before she asked her co-hosts to step in to take over talking about the shocking incidents.
'I don't even know what to do or how to handle this at this particular time... I am speechless,' King said, as she holds back tears.
'Once again, I say thank goodness that there's video tape. You know, I think as a daughter of a black man and a mother of a black man, this is really too much for me today. I'm still rattled by the last story.'
George Floyd (pictured) was filmed Monday begging the Minneapolis cop to stop and telling him he could not breathe before he lost consciousness and later died
The shocking incident was filmed and has sparked outrage, with politicians and celebrities wading in on the matter
'I'm so sorry. I'm still so upset by that last story where the man is handcuffed underneath a car, where people are pleading, "Please he can't breathe," and we're watching a man die,' she said.
'So we go from that story now to this story where she falsely accuses a black man.'
'I am really, really speechless about what we are seeing on television this morning,' King added.
'It feels to me like open season, and that it's just not sometimes a safe place to be in this country for black men. And today is too much for me.'
Floyd's death has sparked outrage across the nation, with politicians and celebrities including Ice Cube, Debra Messing and Martin Luther King III taking to social media to brand the Minneapolis cops murderers and demand they be arrested.
This comes less than a month after footage emerged of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery being shot dead in a street in Georgia by two white men who evaded prosecution for more than two months.
Celebrities led the cries for the arrest of the officers involved in Floyd's death Tuesday, after it emerged four cops had been fired over the incident
The leak of the video sparked outrage across the nation with LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner all leading cries for Travis and Gregory McMichael to be charged with murder.
The father and son duo were only arrested and charged with murder after the video went viral.
Celebrities led the cries for the arrest of the officers involved in Floyd's death Tuesday, after it emerged four cops had been fired over the incident.
'How long will we go for Blue on Black Crime before we strike back???' Ice Cube tweeted.
The rapper then had to defend his use of the words 'strike back' when some said he was encouraging vigilantism.
He responded with a follow-up Tweet: 'Anybody coming at me for what I said ain’t ready to do s**t...'
Singers Ariana Grande, Madonna and Justin Bieber also waded into the issue, sharing posts condemning the police brutality with their millions of followers
Ice T also spoke out about Floyd's death in a series of Tweets.
'They Killed another Brother.. On Video,' he wrote.
He followed it up with another post that read: 'I play a Cop on TV... But I'll NEVER stop speaking about injustice... EVER. F that.'
Snoop Dogg simply posted a meme showing the white cop kneeling on Floyd's neck alongside an image of Colin Kaepernick kneeling, saying 'This is why'.
The post was in reference to athletes kneeling during the US national anthem at sports events in protest against police brutality and racism.
Martin Luther King III also took to social media over the footage and wrote: 'Say his name. #GeorgeFloyd #icantbreathe'.
Singers Ariana Grande, Madonna and Justin Bieber also waded into the issue, sharing posts condemning police brutality with their millions of followers.
Grande posted an Instagram story of a black screen with the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #justiceforGeorgeFloyd.
'Justice is not just about specific officers being arrested. It's about dismantling the systems that make it possible,' she wrote.
Pop star Bieber posted a photo of the incident and decried it as 'sick'.
'This makes me absolutely sick. This makes me angry this man DIED. This makes me sad. Racism is evil We need to use out voice! Please people. I'm sorry GEORGE FLOYD,' he wrote.
Madonna slammed the police officer responsible for Floyd's death saying he 'knew he was being filmed and murdered him with arrogance and pride'.
Will & Grace star Debra Messing uploaded a post that echoed the victim's family's pleas that the firing of the four cops does not go far enough to getting justice for the man's death.
'#GeorgeFloyd is the African-American man being MURDERED on this video. You watch it happen. With no respect for human life, these cops used unnecessary force on a man who was already detained. They have been fired. I WANT THEM ARRESTED!' she tweeted.
Several politicians have also slammed Floyd's death and called for action against what they describe as a 'systemic problem' in policing across America
Several politicians have also slammed Floyd's death and called for action not just over his death but over all incidents of racism and police brutality.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pointed to a systemic issue across America as she said 'police brutality' is a 'leading cause of death for young Black men'.
'#GeorgeFloyd should be alive. Instead, he was killed as he begged police for his life. The impunity of police violence is a systemic problem we must face to save lives,' she tweeted.
'Police brutality is now a leading cause of death for young Black men in the US. The status quo is killing us.'
Former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg also said there is a 'systemic' issue as he pointed to both Floyd's death and the Central Park case.
He tweeted: 'The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The racism on display in Central Park. This can't just continue to be a day in the life in the USA. This is systemic and it won't change on its own.'
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden tweeted late Tuesday urging for the FBI to conduct a 'thorough investigation' and for the officers to be 'held responsible for their egregious actions'.
Floyd, who was arrested on suspicion of forgery on Monday night, was seen on camera being pinned to the ground by white cop Derek Chauvin who was leaning on his neck.
The black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday has been identified as George Floyd on social media. The attorney representing Floyd's family Benjamin Crump tweeted this photo of the victim on Tuesday, calling for police officers to be brought to justice
Disturbing footage captured by a bystander shows the moment a white Minneapolis police officer pins a black man to the ground with his knees during an arrest on Monday
The man, unresponsive and handcuffed, is then placed on a stretcher before being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died shortly after
In the footage, shared by onlooker Darnella Frazier, Floyd is repeatedly heard telling officers that he could not breathe as he lay on the ground next to the tire of a squad car.
'Please, please, please, I can't breathe. Please, man,' Floyd, who is shirtless, begs the cop.
The officer repeatedly tells him 'Well get up and get in the car then,' while he continues to pin Floyd to the ground.
Floyd responds 'I will' but the cop continues to hold him to the ground by his neck.
'My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts,' Floyd is heard gasping at one point, before saying he needs water.
After several minutes, one of the officers tells him to 'relax.'
'Man, I can't breathe,' Floyd responds, before eventually passing out.
Bystanders are also heard in the video urging the officers to stop and warning that they are killing him.
'Bro, you've got him down at least let him breathe, man,' a male onlooker says.
'He's not even resisting arrest ... he's human, bro.'
One of the officers then replies: 'This is why you don't do drugs, kids.'
'This ain't about drugs, bro! He's human,' the bystander says.
'You're enjoying it. Look at you. Your body language, you bum. You know that's bogus right now,' he adds.
Several minutes into the video, Floyd appears to begin to lose consciousness before becoming unresponsive.
An ambulance then arrives and police officers move the man's limp body onto a stretcher.
'You just really killed that man, bro,' the male onlooker says.
Authorities confirmed Floyd died later that day and the public and the victim's family are now calling for the officers to be charged with murder.
The case has horrifying parallels to the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner in 2014 who died after he was placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.
The lawyer for Floyd's family has described Floyd's death as even 'worse' because the cop pinned down his neck for a staggering eight minutes.
‘I mean it was 8 minutes. It is in many ways worse than Eric Garner as they have his knees on his neck and he is begging, pleading for not one minute, not two minutes, not three minutes but eight minutes – begging them to let him breathe so we have "we can’t breathe" again in 2020,’ Ben Crump told TMX.news Tuesday.
‘It just takes you back to Eric Garner and now we have another black man saying to police "I can’t breathe" and them not offering any humanity.’
Gayle King breaks down on live TV while discussing death of George Floyd after white cop knelt on his neck, as she leads big names speaking out and says it 'feels like open season' on black men in America
![Gayle King breaks down on live TV while discussing death of George Floyd after white cop knelt on his neck, as she leads big names speaking out and says it 'feels like open season' on black men in America]()
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