Boxing champion Anthony Joshua was forced to defend himself after his speech at the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest in Watford earlier this month led some people to label him racist.
During the peaceful protest on Saturday, June 6, which was over the death of black American George Floyd, around a thousand people, including Joshua, took to the High Street before heading to Cassiobury Park to have their voices heard.
While addressing the crowd, Joshua controversially said: “Show them where it hurts.
“Abstain from spending your money in their shops and economies, and invest in black-owned businesses.
“And that’s for all communities if you want to uplift yourself, invest in your own businesses.”
While critics claimed the comments were racist towards other communities, the 30-year-old hit back.
The following day, he tweeted: “If you think I’m a racist, go f*** yourself!
“If you watch the full video, the speech was passed around for someone to read and I took the lead.
“I personally spoke from the heart about the Watford community, ideas of us personally investing seven figures to create unity and opportunities and adding change to the African/Caribbean community.
“Shops aren’t the issue here. Before you talk s***, you better boycott racism.”
Speaking about the protest, Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “It is important that we stand up and challenge every form of discrimination, racism and injustice. I’m proud to be Mayor of a diverse town, where people from many different backgrounds care for one another and share in each other’s successes and struggles.”
Picture courtesy of @AnthonyJoshua
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