Chris Rock isn't having a great month. In the last two months, the Top 5 movie star has been pulled over by the cops three times—each time he documented the incident on his Instagram, alleging that it was the result of police profiling. While it sucks that well-known black celebrities (or anyone, for that matter) can still be subject to unjust profiling, not everyone agreed with Rock's hypothesis. At least, not fellow actor Isaiah Washington.
Washington responded to Rock on Twitter, giving him some advice on how to handle these kinds of interactions with the police. He told Rock that he traded in his Mercedes-Benz for three Priuses (which, I don't know, sounds a little bit like a humble brag in and of itself) when he "got tired of being pulled over." His main advice though: "Adapt."
I sold my $90,000.00 Mercedes G500 and bought 3 Prius's, because I got tired of being pulled over by Police. #Adapt @chrisrock
— Isaiah Washington (@IWashington) April 1, 2015It sucks to report an unfair situation and be told that you are the problem. So it was not surprising when Washington got told off on Twitter, by many people, like Questlove, who disagreed that the onus to change should be on Rock:
Prius won't save you from #DWB @IWashington i know. trust.
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) April 1, 2015
@IWashington @DeleMage @elonjames @chrisrock I drive a 12 yr old Corolla. Cop straight asked if it was my car. Please shut all the way up!
— Becky Bourgeois (@BlackKhaleesi) April 1, 2015
And is @IWashington implying that Black folks who drive less expensive cars won't be pulled over by cops? That logic is broken as hell.
— Elon James White (@elonjames) April 1, 2015
@IWashington @chrisrock @rodimusprime This gotta be an April Fool's joke Rod, stop playing
— Lucious Llama (@Cybersoulja) April 1, 2015Washington defended himself by saying that his critics are just millennials who are misconstruing in message, and he needed to get back to work "to help free all y'all." Good one, dude! Apparently, he's also going to appear on CNN to talk with Don Lemon about this whole thing.
Update: 4/2/15 (8:45 p.m.): Isaiah Washington appeared on CNN to discuss his comments on Twitter. "There is something that is happening in his neighborhood — they [police] are looking for something. Obviously they are not looking for Chris Rock," he told Don Lemon. "I think the issue is many things… from my experiences, police are about the business of policing."
Don Lemon went back to the suggestion that Chris Rock should be driving another car when Washington offered another piece of advice. "He needs to look at the area he is in and visit with the local police officers in that community… and question them as to why they are pulling him over specifically," he said.
"But that is putting a burden on him," Lemon replied.
"We’ve been burdened for 400 years… We are in a situation where we have to survive in extreme circumstances with people who are angry and those who are practicing white supremacy — they are on the hunt and they are angry," Washington said. "The onus is on us. If we don’t survive, we don’t live to fight another day — and that is what I was saying to adapt."
