Amid a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans, Rihanna celebrated Easter Sunday by attending a #StopAsianHate march in New York City.
Alongside her assistant, Tina Truong, the 33-year-old Barbadian pop star showed up to rally behind the Asian American community, as hundreds of supporters held signs and danced in the streets. As always, Rihanna seemed to be in good spirits, chatting with marchers and even penning her own sign, which read, “Hate=Racism Against God.”
The event followed another weekend that saw more attacks on Asian Americans. On Saturday morning, a 64-year-old woman was fatally stabbed while walking her dogs in Riverside, CA. That same day, a 38-year-old man was sucker-punched in front of his wife and son in Central Park. The latter incident is just the latest attack that’s taken place in New York City, following last week’s pair of beatings.
Of course, the ongoing acts of anti-Asian violence isn’t just an American problem. Two weeks ago, Canada announced that there have been 955 reported incidents of Asian-related hate crimes across the country since the beginning of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Police Department’s 2020 year-end report noted a 717 percent increase in anti-Asian violence.
