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May 31 (UPI) -- Filmmaker Tyler Perry and singer Beyonce are among the stars publicly speaking out about the death of George Floyd and the protests that have followed it. Floyd was an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis last week.
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Four police officers were fired because of the incident and one -- Derek Chauvin -- has been charged with third-degree murder for pinning Floyd to the ground by the neck for several minutes, an action that was caught on a widely viewed video.
Floyd's death ignited nationwide protests, some of which have turned violent, resulting in injuries, fires, theft and property damage in cities such as Minneapolis, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta and Seattle.
"Please, please stop this violence!! Looting is NOT THE ANSWER!!!!" Perry -- who has a film and TV studio in Georgia -- said in a Facebook message.
Beyonce demanded justice for Floyd in an Instagram video.
"We all witnessed his murder in broad daylight. We're broken and we're disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain," the pop star said.
"I'm not only speaking to people of color. If you're white, black, brown or anything in between, I'm sure you feel hopeless by the racism going on in America right now. No more senseless killings of human beings. No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away," Beyonce said. "George is all of our family in humanity. He's our family because he's a fellow American."
Lady Gaga also weighed in on the turmoil.
"Right now is a critical time for the black community to be supported by all other communities so we can put a stop to something that is intrinsically wrong by the grace of God or whatever creator you do or do not believe in," Gaga wrote on Instagram. "I urge people to speak gently to each other, speak with passion, inspiration, and impress the importance of this issue until the systems that keep us sick die, instead of people we love."
Celebrities such as Steve Carell, Don Cheadle, Seth Rogen, Kehlani, Janelle Monae, Chrissy Teigen, Ben Schwartz and Rob Delaney have all shared on social media that they donated money to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a nonprofit organization bailing out low-income individuals arrested while protesting.
Streaming entertainment giants Netflix and Amazon pledged their support to people of color this weekend.
Netflix said it felt it was its "duty to our Black members, employees, creators and talent to speak up."
"To be silent is to be complicit. Black lives matter," Netflix said.
Amazon said in its own statement, "Together we stand with the Black community -- colleagues, artists, writers, storytellers, producers, our viewers -- and all allies in the fight against racism and injustice."
