Actor Armie Hammer has been vocal on social media about his support for the Black Lives Matter protestors.
And while his tweets condemning police brutality and calling for justice for George Floyd have received praise on Twitter, his most recent post about a new GoFundMe page idea didn’t go over so well.
“I’ve got an idea,” the 33-year-old’s tweet began. “Let’s start a gofundme account for anyone who punches a racist in the face. This tweet shouldn’t offend non-racists... so if this tweet DOES make you mad, someone should punch you in the face and our gofundme will pay their legal fees. Thoughts?” Hammer asked.
While it’s safe to assume Hammer’s tweet was meant as a joke, some people felt that it was in poor taste. “Violence is counterproductive to any movement,” one person responded, to which Hammer replied, “Name a movement that started without violence. Or one that ended without violence.”
Another person who called the tweet “a bad idea,” explained her reasoning, noting that Hammer’s words could be misconstrued. “Tomorrow's headline: ‘Armie Hammer advocating violence on Twitter,’” she wrote.
Hammer responded once again, writing, “Thank you, Bina, for your calm and wise words. I do agree that calling for violence is never the best option... but sometimes it feels like the only option,” he began.
“And what I am really mad at, more than anything, are white people who have their heads in the sand. Or even worse,” he added before continuing in another tweet, “white people who are aware of the reality of the situation (systemized racism, white privilege) and don’t want to make a change. And even worse? Those fighting the change.”
That garnered another response from the person on Twitter, who wrote, “I totally understand what you meant. In these turbulent times, anger is the right reaction, violence is the incorrect response (in my opinion anyway).”
No matter how people viewed Hammer’s tweet, the actor believed that it was refreshing to see a difference of opinion on Twitter that didn’t end in a fight.
“Now THIS is healthy communication! And on TWITTER NO LESS!! I love it," he wrote.
