Ever since video surfaced of two police officers tackling and shooting Alton Sterling to death outside a Louisiana convenience store, there has been an outpouring of support for the 37-year-old black man’s family, especially among celebrities—a GoFundMe set up by actress Issa Rae to help pay for the education of Sterling’s children has nearly doubled its $200,000 goal in the last 24 hours.
Some other Hollywood stars still need to learn how to properly express solidarity, however.
Mischa Barton, who appeared on The O.C. in the early 2000s and competed on Dancing with the Stars this year, wrote a heartfelt Instagram post in which she said she was “heart broken” (sic) while watching the video of Sterling’s death.
“This may have been going on forever in the United States but thank god the pigs get caught on camera now,” Barton wrote. “The world is a precarious place right now. #stop #reflect and #act appropriately.”
The only problem is that these seemingly genuine words were paired with this picture:
The irony of Barton writing about the horrors of police brutality while lounging on a yacht, wearing a bikini and holding a glass of wine meant the image immediately went viral on Twitter, with users berating Barton for her privilege:
I don't think Mischa Barton could have picked a worse photo to showcase her solidarity. pic.twitter.com/vHkeGKuUtQ
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 7, 2016
poor mischa barton. getting roasted just because she was wearing a bikini from her "solemn contemplation of racism" collection.
— Sen. Lemon Gogurt ugarles.bsky.social (@Ugarles) July 7, 2016
Mischa Barton is sick and tired of the police shooting at her yacht. pic.twitter.com/tbZTwmuXUF
— Keating Thomas (@keatingthomas) July 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/MrWordsWorth/status/751124064253587457
https://twitter.com/ozbanks1/status/751120506724626432
https://twitter.com/CorporateBarbie/status/751124394282541056
Mischa Barton forgot to use the hashtag #YachtLivesMatter.
— Evan J'daté Kessler (@EvanJKessler) July 7, 2016
So thankful that Mischa Barton took 5 seconds out of her busy day sunbathing on her yacht to provide some guidance to us peasants
— Green Wave Gator 🇸🇾🇺🇸 (@greenwavegator) July 7, 2016
“Truly, we must wear the bikini of reconciliation for our national speedboat to enter the waters of peace.” pic.twitter.com/5aQWWSXgjA
— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams) July 7, 2016
As a result of the outcry, Barton deleted the post.
Let’s hope she doesn’t pay similar tribute to Philando Castile.
