Kiwi actor KJ Apa has insisted he doesn't need to post on social media to show he cares about the Black Lives Matter movement after he was accused of remaining silent.
The Riverdale actor was called out by comedian Elijah Daniel, who highlighted Apa's role in The Hate U Give, a film that tackles police brutality.
"If KJ was the co-star of that movie why is he so silent?" the tweet posted earlier this month read.
"He has such a massive young audience and got paid to be in a movie about police brutality and... posted a black square?"
Last week, Apa shared a black tile on his Instagram feed with the hashtag #blackouttuesday, a social media trend designed to show solidarity with the black community. At the time, some commenters suggested it wasn't enough.
"Where's a donation link? A petition link? I'm sorry but you can do more with your platform," one Instagram user wrote.
"Yeah no dawg this ain't enough, open your purse and donate," wrote another.
The 22-year-old did not appear to respond to those comments a week ago, but did reply to Daniel's tweet, writing: "I don’t need to post about my opinions and beliefs in order for them to be real to me".
"I support black lives," the tweet continued. "But I don't feel it's necessary to prove to people I do by posting my attendance at these protests."
The reply prompted mixed response from fans, with one pointing out that Apa's Riverdale co-star Cole Sprouse was arrested while peacefully protesting, while Apa "hasn't done shit".
Another said because Apa is from New Zealand, he doesn't have the same level of responsibility as his American counterparts to share Black Lives Matter content.
"KJ is new here, I think it's unfair to criticise him or other just for not posting," one fan wrote.
Yesterday, Apa shared a speech from Tupac Shakur speaking about black men and their place in society with the caption "22 years old", referring to rapper's age at the time.
