Jay Pharoah could relate on more than one level when he learned about George Floyd’s death.
Global’s “Saturday Nighy Live” alum revealed on Instagram and “The Talk” how he was once detained while jogging in Los Angeles, California. The incident occurred one week before the Floyd story broke.
“I see a gun from my peripheral and I look and the officer is like, ‘Freeze – get on the ground,’ and I’m like ‘Oh snap…'” Pharoah told “The Talk” hosts, per Deadline. “Spread your arms like an airplane.”
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“Three more officers drove up,” he continued. “It’s hot, corona[virus] is definitely something to be worried about, the police officers didn’t have on gloves, they didn’t have on masks…When they put me in cuffs, after they were all on me, an officer put his knee on my neck.”
Pharaoh said he was fortunate to be a celebrity.
“I was just trying to exercise,” he said. “It could have easily turned into another situation if I wasn’t who I am. And the point here is being Black in America, is just that, being Black in America. Other people can’t level with the same fears I have.”
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“Leaving the house, we should not have to fear going to the grocery store, going to get some gas, running down the street,” he asserted. “It’s called human civility. That’s what it is. It’s about being a human.”
The Instagram video shows security footage of Pharoah being detained. The footage shows an officer kneeling on the back of Pharoah’s neck.
“Be in the know,” Pharoah concluded in the Instagram video. “I’m Jay Pharaoh and I’m a Black man in America and my life matters. Black lives always matter. They always matter.”
