Daniel Dae Kim, Olivia Munn and more stars respond to Atlanta shooting

Notable celebrities are calling on politicians and world leaders to put an end to the anti-Asian hate speech that was perpetuated under Donald Trump’s presidency and has incited violence across the country in the wake of the pandemic. Most recently that violence took a heartbreaking turn in three reportedly connected shootings at massage spas in Atlanta.

A 21-year-old male suspect was arrested in conjunction with the shootings, which left eight people dead, six of whom were reportedly females of Asian descent. Four of those women were Korean, according to a statement released by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry following the attacks. None of the victims’ names have been released at the time of press. According to various outlets, the man in custody is Robert Aaron Long and he is the main suspect after reviewing video evidence.

The shootings created a wave of celebrity responses on social media on Tuesday night, especially since these people lost their lives during a horrifying trend of attacks against Asian Americans in the United States. Over the past year, Stop AAPI Hate (an organization that records discrimination against Asian and Pacific Island Americans) has reported 2,900 more firsthand accounts of anti-Asian American harassment or attacks than in previous years.

Prominent Korean actor Daniel Dae Kim (Lost, Hawaii Five-O) shared a photo and article of the man arrested for the attacks on Twitter, writing that, “The race of the person committing the crime matters less than the simple fact that if you act with hate in your heart, you are part of the problem. And to those with the power to help and yet sit idly by, your silence is complicity. #StopAsianHate.” The actor also used his platform to share more information on the shootings as it became available over the past several hours.

Olivia Munn also took to Twitter to share information with her followers as it unfolded, at one point writing, “The violent attacks and murders against Asians are still happening. Please help us. We need help to be safe in our country. #StopAsianHate. Please.” She also took time to thank those who sent messages of support to the Asian-American community during this harrowing time.

George Takei expressed his rightful anger at the situation, calling out elected officials who continue to dispel a harmful narrative with the way they have described COVID-19 over the past year, and calling on media to hold such people responsible for their words.

Many other prominent figures, from Mindy Kaling, to Padma Lakshmi, to basketball star Jeremy Lin, to Simu Liu shared their grief online and called on politicians to clean up their act already.

Following Long’s arrest, which took place a few hours after the dinnertime attacks in Cherokee and Atlanta, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said they were still working to confirm that the cases were related. Atlanta police also said in a statement that video evidence showing Long’s car in the area of the spas where the shootings took place, “Suggest it is extremely like our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s, who is in custody.”

More details are expected to follow today. In the meantime thoughts go out to all of the victims’ families and to those who have been affected as a result of anti-Asian hate crimes.

BEFORE YOU GO: Daniel Dae Kim talks taking action and bringing awareness to Anti-Asian hate crimes

[video_embed id='2156973']BEFORE YOU GO: Daniel Dae Kim talks taking action and bringing awareness to Anti-Asian hate crimes [/video_embed]