Stevie Wonder just took a knee against President Trump during a concert

It's not just athletes; celebrities of all stripes are standing up to injustice by kneeling down

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published September 25, 2017 8:13AM (EDT)

 (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Acclaimed musician Stevie Wonder took both knees during the Global Citizen Festival on Sunday to express solidarity with the NFL player protests against President Donald Trump.

"Tonight, I'm taking a knee for America," Wonder told a cheering audience before dropping to first one, then both knees. The former child prodigy then added that he was praying "for our planet, our future, our leaders of the world and our globe. Amen."

Not surprisingly, Wonder's actions were met with mixed reviews by Twitter followers.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona either didn't hear about Wonder's protest or chose not to mention it, instead thanking the musician for including a shout out to him during the concert.

Meanwhile Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois insulted Wonder with a racially-charged comment.

Former FBI operative Naveed Jamali didn't mince words in calling out Walsh's racism.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

MORE FROM Matthew Rozsa


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Donald Trump Joe Walsh John Mccain National Anthem Nfl Protests Police Racism Stevie Wonder