Actor Justice Smith, known for his work in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, The Get Down and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, came out as queer on an Instagram post regarding the recent protests against systemic racism and police brutality. In the post, Justice expresses his disappointment over how many Black Lives Matter supporters at these protests and in general do not show equal support for Black trans and queer individuals. He also reveals that he and Queen Sugar star Nicholas Ashe are a couple.
"@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans," he begins. "We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black."
He goes on to highlight the death of Tony McDade, a Black trans man who was murdered by police in Tallahassee last week. "If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice."
"But the revolution is not about appeal," he stresses. "It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence."
"There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days," he points out, "so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove. You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this Is change, though the fight is far from over. #justicefortonymcdade #justiceforninapop #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforahmaud #justiceforbreonna #sayhername #defundthepolice #endwhitesupremacy." Congrats to Justice on finding love and speaking out!