Black Lives Matter: why this viral video of Alison Hammond is so important

Alison Hammond speaks out on Black Lives Matter.

Credit: Getty

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Black Lives Matter: why this viral video of Alison Hammond is so important

By Hollie Richardson

5 years ago

This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has shared some emotional and vital words on the Black Lives Matter movement.

We all know and love Alison Hammond for being the bright and breezy This Morning presenter with an infectious laugh and ability to find mischief in any situation. 

Who could forget her iconic interview with Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford? Or the time she accidentally pushed a man into Albert Dock while presenting the weather? And what about her triumphant turn in the Bake Off tent?

She puts a smile on your face when watching daytime TV on a sick day. You can imagine her being the very best friend who dishes out hugs and positive advice. She’s just so… unapologetically happy.

But yesterday (Tuesday 2 June), Hammond had something very serious to say, following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after white police officer Derek Chauvin held him down to the floor by kneeling on his neck as he struggled to breathe.

“I’m getting emotional already, I’m a mother to a 15-year-old black boy. So… sorry,” Hammond told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield over the phone on This Morning for #BlackoutTuesday.

“When I saw that image of George Floyd, I saw my brothers, I saw my fathers, I saw my son. I saw everybody’s son. And I was disgusted to my core and it hurt me to the pit of my stomach.

“To think that this is 2020 and we’re seeing that. Let’s be honest, this has been going on forever: my whole life, my mum’s whole life, my father’s life. Everybody’s life.”

She continued: “I believe this movement, Black Lives Matter, is so very important and so wonderful, when I see my white, my Asian brothers and sisters standing by Black Lives Matter. Because it means they understand – not understand fully – but they understand what we are going through as black people.

“And don’t get offended when I say black people because I’m not trying to offend white people. If you’re offended by it then you need to look within yourself. Just know, it’s a basic goodness. Appeal to your basic instinct of goodness.”

“It’s not about all lives matter, obviously we all know that. It’s all about the fact that if black lives mattered, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.

“So when black lives matter, then all lives will matter.”

The clip has since gone viral on Twitter, with the original post gaining over 30k likes and comedian Joe Lycett retweeting it with a comment we can all agree with: “I don’t think I could love [Alison Hammond] more.”

Images: Getty

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