Hustlers star Lili Reinhart has said she made a “mistake” after using a topless picture of herself to call for the arrest of the policemen who shot Breonna Taylor.
The picture has since been either deleted or archived from her Instagram account and on Tuesday she took to Twitter to talk about her “tone deaf” caption despite her “good intentions.”
Reinhart tweeted: “I’ve always tried to use my platform for good. And speak up about things that are important to me. I also can admit when I make a mistake and I made a mistake with my caption. It was never my intent to insult anyone and I’m truly sorry to those that were offended.
“I’ve tried very hard to be honest on my IGTV lives that I’m still learning and trying to be better. But I understand that my caption came off as tone deaf. I truly had good intentions and did not think it through that it could come off as insensitive."
The removed post showed the Riverdale star sitting on Salton Sea beach topless, alongside the caption: “Now that my sideboob has gotten your attention, Breonna Taylor’s murderers have not been arrested. Demand justice.”
Taylor was a Black emergency medical technician who was killed after Louisville police conducted a no-knock search warrant at her home, which saw them enter her home as part of a drug investigation.
Taylor’s partner, Kenneth Walker, is a licensed gun owner and exchanged fire with the police as he believed they were being robbed and police officers returned fire; shooting Taylor eight times and leading to her death. No drugs were found in Taylor’s home.
As with George Floyd, Taylor has become a key figure in the Black Lives Matter protests and her family have filed a lawsuit against the Louisville Police Department. Many celebrities, including Beyonce, have used their platforms to call for the arrest of police officers involved.
Reinhart has been seen joining Black Lives Matter protests in the United States and has hosted a number of Instagram Lives with the Black activists and actors including Asha Bromfield and Chrissy Ford to discuss topics such as the lack of diversity in Hollywood.
