Kelly Ripa became teary-eyed on Live with Kelly and Ryan this week as she spoke out about the “senseless” deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and how people across the world have come together to seek justice. Kelly spoke out on Thursday’s episode of the ABC morning show as she discussed how many people in Los Angeles had shone flashlights up into the sky in a show of solidarity for George on Wednesday evening.
“I was looking at a lot of my friends in LA on their Instagrams, and a lot of them were outside shining flashlights up into the sky,” Kelly said, per The Sun , as her eyes turned glassy with tears.
“And it’s — listen, every time I talk about it, I’m ready… I could cry, I really could cry,” the mom of three added as she spoke to co-host Ryan Seacrest . The two have been filming new episodes remotely due to the continuing coronavirus crisis.
George died last month after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Three other police officers have also been arrested for their involvement.
Kelly then became more emotional as she shared how much she loved seeing people come together. The former All My Children actor also encouraged viewers not to forget about the death of Breonna Taylor back in March in the ongoing fight for justice.
Breonna was killed in her own home by Louisville Metro Police Department officers after she was shot multiple times. The officers entered her home on a no-knock warrant on suspicion of drug offences, though no drugs were found in her apartment and 26-year-old Breonna was not found to have any involvement in the crime they were investigating.
“It’s a symbol… that everybody is coming together to protest the senseless death of George Floyd and, let’s not forget, Breonna Taylor, also,” Kelly said.
“In the great movement of all of this, it seems like the death of Breonna Taylor has gone completely silent. And I’ve also been noticing, particularly on social media, a lot of women are out there saying, ‘Let’s not forget Breonna Taylor.’”
Kelly’s latest comments concerning the unrest across the U.S. came after she also became emotional during Tuesday’s episode of the long-running morning show. Then, she spoke out about celebrating her and husband Mark Consuelos’s 23-year-old son Michael’s birthday amid the protests taking place.
She shared a photo of Michael when he was only a year old and got teary-eyed as she admitted that it made her think about all the parents who aren’t able to celebrate their children’s birthdays because they’ve been affected by police brutality.
Kelly described the U.S. as a “nation suffering” and “a nation in trouble.”
