Actor Garcelle Beauvais is speaking out against false claims about the Haitian American community from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance.
“I have been holding this in for a week, hoping praying it would go away, but it hasn’t!!!” she said in an Instagram post Sunday. “Anyone who knows me, knows that I speak my mind! This madness has got to stop.”
Beauvais, 57, who made her film debut in the 1988 hit movie “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy, moved to the United States from her native Haiti as a child.
The actor, TV host and reality star spoke at length in an Instagram video shared with her 1.4 million followers.
“Staying silent in the face of racism and hate is something that I refuse to do,” she said. “This past week, the lies that have been spewed about the Haitian community, about my community, have been disgusting, deeply hurtful and dangerous.”
Trump and Vance, a senator from Ohio and Republican candidate for vice president, have spread a false story about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio eating pets. Trump used the fabrication as a talking point in his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president.
Trump’s “they’re eating the dogs … they’re eating the cats” comment at the debate has been memed to oblivion on social media.
Beauvais, who was born in Saint-Marc, Haiti, left the country with her family when she was 7 and grew up in Massachusetts. Her memoir “Love Me As I Am: My Journey from Haiti to Hollywood to Happiness” was published in 2022.
“This is not about politics,” she continued in the video. “It’s about humanity. We must condemn this kind of hatred, this kind of racism for anyone. I have always been a proud Haitian immigrant. Coming to America, working hard, that’s what we do, coming from gratitude. And I will not sit by and let people talk about my community in any way they want for their own gain.”
“The power we have is the power to vote,” Beauvais said. “To register and vote and stop this madness, this chaos.”
Beauvais, who stars in and is the executive producer of the Lifetime movie “Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted by Love,” recently interviewed Harris in Washington, D.C.
The actor, who appeared in the 2021 sequel film “Coming 2 America,” is also known for being a cast member on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” a former co-host of Fox talk show “The Real” and for her roles in TV’s “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “NYPD Blue” and “Franklin & Bash.”
Her other film credits include “White House Down” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Beauvais has also appeared in New Jersey native Michelle Buteau’s Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest.” She started her career as a model, going on to appear in the ’90s “Melrose Place” spinoff “Models, Inc.” on Fox.
The actor spoke in Haitian Creole for part of her Instagram video.
“I am not gonna sit by,” Beauvais said. “It’s just not OK to treat people like this. We’re supposed to be uplifting each other. From our leaders to our neighbors, this has got to stop, and we have to do something about it. We can’t just sit by. Thanks for listening, register to vote. We have 50-something days (now 49). Go out and vote. We need to stop this chaos.”
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup.
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Publish date : 2024-09-15 20:47:00
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