As the ongoing protests over the murder of George Floyd by police continue, Cheyenne Floyd challenged fellow Teen Mom stars to speak out.
But when Chelsea Houska continued to post photos about a fun new outfit, fans were furious and began to unfollow her.
Chelsea Houska may be obsessed with her new gold blazer, but fans had some bigger priorities over the weekend.
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, countless protesters have taken to the streets from coast to coast.
These protests have been met with violence from militarized police, igniting a nationwide spark.
As other Teen Mom stars spoke out, Chelsea’s fans had to wonder why she seemed to be ignoring this crucible moment in American history.
in case anyone is wondering if it’s unreasonable to expect reality stars to speak out.
Even Farrah Abraham posted about George Floyd’s murder already, without visible prompting from fans.
Was it her usual word salad? Yes. But once translated, Farrah’s words made sense which was … jaw-dropping.
Meanwhile, Chelsea was posting about her gold blazer. You can see why her followers were unhappy.
Some fans are uncomfortable when their faves are called out, either for saying the wrong thing or saying nothing during times of crisis.
Obviously, we all understands that some celebrities take breaks from social media.
(Just this weekend, I saw an actress come back from an electronics-free break and she had a lot of backreading to do)
However, fans call out their faves because it works. It certainly got Chelsea’s attention.
“My heart is absolutely broken for George Floyd and his family,” Chelsea wrote in her Instagram Stories over the weekend.
She added: “We need to do better.”
That is very true, but might have been accused of being too little — a cynic could see it as a token statement to silence critics.
That was not her final commentary on the horrible injustice that black Americans are facing, however.
Here, Chelsea simply shared another’s post, but it was evidence that she’s taking a hard look at what’s happening.
That’s good for two reasons.
Not only is she using her platform as requested, but Chelsea is seeing the on-the-ground glimpses shared on social media.
It can be extremely distressing to watch police cruisers plow into crowds of American citizens, but it’s important to know that it is happening.
“I’m laying in bed, thinking about my sleeping children,” Chelsea begins another post to her Instagram Story, “and my heart aches.”
She writes: “I will never know what it’s like to be worried about them solely because of the color of their skin.”
“I may never experiences what you are going through,” Chelsea acknowledges to her black followers.
“But I see you,” she assures. “I understand you.”
“I want to do better, raise my children to do better, and make a difference,” Chelsea expresses.
“I’m not the best with words,” she admits, “and I’ve overthought what to say and not say.”
“But,” Chelsea writes, “this morning I am just so overcome with sadness.”
“I hope we can all come together,” she concludes, “and be better.”
As someone who has read through dozens of celebrity takes — both good and bad — this really stands out to me.
Chelsea is speaking from the heart, here.
If she had asked for advice on what to say or had a publicist write up something for her to say, it would look different.
She’s just speaking her mind and explaining exactly how conscious she is of how white privilege sets her apart from the pain that so many endure.