‘X-Files’ Stars Join Other Actors and Take a Knee in Protest of Injustice

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny arrive at the premiere of Fox's The X-Files
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Actress Gillian Anderson (L) and actor David Duchovny arrive at the premiere of Fox's "The X-Files" at the California Science Center on January 16, 2106 in Los Angeles, California.

The #TakeAKnee protest may have started on the football field, but now television actors and other influencers are kneeling to show their solidarity in the fight against police brutality and injustice. This viral movement comes in the wake of President Donald Trump scolding professional athletes for “disrespecting” the American flag and the country’s veterans by not standing during the National Anthem. He called for anyone who kneels to be fined and fired from their respective teams.

The cast of Star Trek: Discovery and Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny of the The X-Files are the latest celebrities to take a stand by taking a knee, posting photos on social media of their protests.

#StarTrekDiscovery #takeaknee

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Emmy winner and star of Orange Is the New Black, Uzo Aduba, posted her own photo.

Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams, an active participant in the movement against social and racial injustice, has been vocal about the #TakeAKnee campaign. “The fake outrage ain’t about the knee, it’s about Blackness. The knee is about anti-Blackness in policy & policing: Unfulfilled promises,” Williams tweeted on Monday.

The Voice‘s Pharell Williams also expressed support for the movement last weekend by taking a knee during “A Concert for Charlottesville: An Evening of Music and Unity” benefit concert in Charlottesville, Virginia, where 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed and dozens more were injured following a car attack by 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. in August.

The #TakeAKnee movement began in August 2016 when NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick (then a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers) made headlines for kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of racial injustice.