Garcelle Beauvais slammed Donald Trump and JD Vance for continually spreading what she and many others have described as lies about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. The Haitian actress and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star then called on her followers to go out in vote in the 2024 presidential election.
“Staying silent in the face of racism and hate is something that I refuse to do,” Beauvais said in an Instagram post on Sunday, which you can watch below. “This past week, the lies that have been spewed about the Haitian community — about my community — have been disgusting, deeply hurtful and dangerous.”
Check out the video below:
She continued, saying the issue isn’t about a person’s race, gender, ethnicity or religion, but rather a people issue that shouldn’t be accepted or tolerated by anyone.
“Now this is not about politics. 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,” Beauvais went on. “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 any way they want for their own gain.
She concluded her message by encouraging fans and followers to register and use their power to vote.
“The power we have is the power to vote — to register and vote, and stop this madness, this chaos,” she said. “I am not going to sit by. 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 … go out and vote. We need to end this chaos.”
Several A-listers filled Beauvais’ comments, applauding her for speaking, including Jamie Foxx, Sherri Shepherd, Erika Alexander, Larry Wilmore and Bravo executive Andy Cohen, who wrote: “It’s about HUMANITY. Thank you @garcelle.”
Beauvais’ words come as Trump and Vance continue to spread anti-Haitian rhetoric against Haitian refugees who have moved to Springfield in an effort to flee ongoing violence in their home country. The politicians’ remarks, which stem from baseless claims about Haitians eating house pets, have led to a rise in violence targeted at Ohio-based Haitians, including bomb threats throughout the city.
Beauvais isn’t the first to speak out about the dangerous misinformation. “The Office” star Rainn Wilson announced he’d be leaving X because the Elon Musk-owned platform allows the circulation of disinformation, including these ones.
“Everyone was in on this horrific, racist, unsubstantiated lie simply to throw kerosene on the fire of immigrant hate and distrust,” Wilson, who has a long history of charitable work in Haiti, said. “Twitter used to be a fun place to post jokes for your friends and laugh at some memes and get some news as it unfolded. It is now an echo-chamber, cesspool of hate and misinformation. I’m out.” The actor has since left the platform.
In a statement to media Tuesday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby also responded to the mounting misinformation against Ohio-area Haitian migrants, stating: “What’s deeply concerning to us is you’ve got now elected officials in the Republican Party pushing yet another conspiracy theory that’s just seeking to divide people based on lies and, let’s be honest, based on an element of racism.”
