Pro-Jesse Williams Petitions Outnumber Opposition 78-1
The lone Change.org appeal demanding the “Grey’s Anatomy” star’s dismissal actually has fewer signatures than one asking creator Shonda Rhimes to do nothing
Tony Maglio | July 6, 2016 @ 4:58 PM
Last Updated: July 6, 2016 @ 5:17 PM
A Change.org petition calling for “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jesse Williams‘ job has been getting a lot of media attention, including here on TheWrap. A deeper dive into the activist platform shows there are actually 78 pro-Williams petitions, however.
One, titled “Don’t let the racists win! ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ don’t fire Jesse Williams” addressed to show creator Shonda Rhimes has more than 26,000 supporters alone — about 5,000 more than the buzzier negative one demanding ABC can the man behind Dr. Jackson Avery.
Additional petitions in support of the 34-year-old activist boast a few thousand signatories, some have a few hundred, while others just a handful. But it’s clearly quite one-sided on the website.
Last week Williams delivered an impassioned speech at the BET Awards that went viral, prompting the aforementioned Change.org petition seeking his dismissal from the show. During the address, he touched on themes of cultural appropriation, police brutality, consumerism and general exploitation involving the black community.
Earlier today, the actor ripped TheWrap on Twitter for what he called “incessantly promoting” the “cowardly intolerance” of the lone boycott.
Because you keep incessantly promoting their cowardly intolerance! Not a single sane sentence in their claim. NotOne https://t.co/18ZgrbfLnL
In the interest of fairness, we believe it is time for us to take an editorial stance. As such, Jesse Williams, consider TheWrap officially on the record in support of bringing back the Dodge Caravan.
6 Most Outlandish Online Petitions, From Jesse Williams to Piers Morgan (Photos)
After a Change.org petition to fire Jesse Williams from "Grey's Anatomy" went viral shortly following the actor's inspiring speech BET Awards speech last month, TheWrap takes a look at five other ridiculous online petitions.
Jesse Williams gave an incredibly moving acceptance speech at the 2016 BET Awards that received a lot of praise. The actor tackled police brutality with black men and the current racial climate of the U.S. Apparently, it wasn't too popular with some folks calling out the "Grey's Anatomy" actor for "hate speech" and hashtagging #alllivesmatter. The petition was only 315 people short of reaching its goal of 7,500 signatures at the time of this post.
It looks like not everyone is part of the Beyhive as disgruntled non-fans are petitioning to have Beyoncé and Jay Z arrested for wiring money to bail out Ferguson protesters. And of course, let's not forget her "offensive" Super Bowl halftime show.
Some people are apparently just getting tired of hearing the antiquated "Star Spangled Banner," and thought it would be appropriate to change the national anthem to R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)."
A group of non-Beliebers recently wanted to deport Justin Bieber and have his green card revoked. "He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nation's youth," the campaign stated. The White House actually responded, but did not decide to take any action on the Canadian singer's immigration status.
U.S. citizens appear to be big on deportations, a petition was created to deport Piers Morgan for engaging in a "hostile attack" of the Second Amendment.
Some 49,890 people petitioned the White House to have President Obama impeached for disrespecting the Constitution and forcing everyone to get healthcare. The White House responded with a letter titled "The Short Answer is No, But Keep Reading."
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Before the Change.org campaign to have the “Grey’s Anatomy” star fired, there were appeals to deport Justin Bieber, arrest Beyonce and even change the national anthem
After a Change.org petition to fire Jesse Williams from "Grey's Anatomy" went viral shortly following the actor's inspiring speech BET Awards speech last month, TheWrap takes a look at five other ridiculous online petitions.
