Riverdale star Lili Reinhart has apologised after posting a topless photo on Instagram with a caption demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot dead by white police officers while she was sleeping in her home.
On Monday, Reinhart posted a photo of her posing topless on Instagram with the caption: "Now that my sideboob has gotten your attention, Breonna Taylor's murderers have not been arrested. Demand justice."
People online were quick to denounce the post — which one user called "weird and gross" — and said Reinhart was using Breonna Taylor's death as an excuse to post photos of herself.
Lili Reinhart really thought she doing something..... this is sick, why do she use Breonna Taylor's name as an excuse to post her sexy pic? weird and gross.
"The only thing that post did is get a bunch of people to talk about Lili Reinhart's boobs," one person tweeted. "They're gonna talk about LILI. Not Breonna."
the only thing that post did is get a bunch of people to talk about lili reinhart’s boobs. it was a thirst trap with a BLM caption. what are the odds that someone looks at a pic of lili’s boobs and says yas lemme demand justice! they’re gonna talk about LILI. not breonna. https://t.co/TdjuzB4Mut
Another person argued the fact that Reinhart originally just deleted the caption and not the post proved she was using the Black Lives Matter movement for a "quirky caption".
The fact that Lili Reinhart deleted her caption but not the post literally PROVES she didn't post it to get attention for Breonna Taylor. She just wanted a quirky caption, and she used an innocent Black woman's death to do that. https://t.co/t1QhHGde6A
breonna taylor's death is NOT a joke or meme and people need to know that and lili's post was literally NOT it
i think captioning your selfies with call to arrest the cops who killed breonna taylor and thinking ur doing something to raise awareness is very self absorbed but that’s just me
Now Reinhart has deleted the post entirely and apologised for what she called her "tone deaf" caption in a series of tweets.
"I've always tried to use my platform for good. ... I also can admit when I make a mistake and I made a mistake with my caption," she wrote. "It was never my intent to insult anyone and I'm truly sorry to those that were offended."
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," she went on. "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."
Reinhart's post and apology comes after several Twitter users expressed their discomfort at the commodification of Breonna Taylor's death for social media posts.
breonna taylor's death being commodified into a meme is really enough to tell me that y'all do not actually value the personhood of black women
In recent weeks, the phrase "arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" has spread like wildfire on social media, with people tacking it onto otherwise unrelated photo captions and tweets.
"Breonna Taylor is not a meme, and neither is her death," one Twitter user said. "She is a Black woman with a life and a story and a personality and loved ones."
Breonna Taylor is not a meme, and neither is her death. She is a Black woman with a life and a story and a personality and loved ones. Please consider this before your next quirky post or retweet.
"Breonna Taylor's murder is not a joke. It's not a meme. It's not meant for your get clear skin tweet to go viral," another said.
Breonna Taylor’s murder is not a joke. It’s not a meme. It’s not meant for your get clear skin tweet to go viral. She was a real Black woman who was murdered in her own home. Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove are the cops who murdered her not just some cops.