‘Lucifer’ Star Opens Up About PTSD After the Killing of George Floyd
Like many Hollywood A-listers, stars of Lucifer have spoken up about various causes and social issues. With that in mind, one cast member revealed his experience with PTSD following the killing of George Floyd.
DB Woodside shared his take on the Black Lives Matter Movement
On Lucifer, Woodside portrays the Devil’s virtuous older brother Amenadiel. Although the angel is one of Heaven’s strongest warriors, he also stands out as one of the most compassionate and devout characters on the canvas.
Likewise, Amenadiel’s portrayer, Woodside, has opened up about his personal journey and shared his perspective about the social climate in America. When the actor spoke with Entertainment Tonight, he stressed the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The movement is extremely important, and we all have to push this change that we really wanna see.
Listen, I think [for] anybody that’s Black, this has been a really challenging time. I think what we’re learning is, is that there’s a whole lot that white people didn’t really understand, didn’t know. And perhaps some of that was because they didn’t take the initiative to really know, to really find out.
So what I’m saying now to people is, if you see injustice anywhere, you have a responsibility to right that injustice. You have a moral obligation.
Those of us who are privileged enough to do what we do, I think we, especially, have a bit more responsibility to reach out and to use our platforms for good.
DB Woodside on Entertainment Tonight
The ‘Lucifer’ star weighed in on white privilege
On Lucifer, Amenadiel and Lucifer are siblings who differ in appearance when it comes to skin tone. The elder brother lives his life on Earth as a Black man while the younger brother appears to be Caucasian, at least to human eyes.
Over the years, numerous characters have made offhanded comments and assumptions about one or both brothers being adopted. Typically, the gag is handled lightheartedly. However, Woodside noted to Entertainment Tonight that he and his white counterparts have a much different experience in the real world.
It’s crazy to start talking about these stories because I think for so many African Americans, we compartmentalize so much. So much of our lives.
I think for most people, they see us — someone who’s a professional — and they seem to be good at their job, doing well. They couldn’t possibly imagine what some of us have gone through just to get to the same positions that our white allies are in.
DB Woodside on Entertainment Tonight
Woodside explained how the George Floyd killing affected him
The Black Lives Matter Movement has been alive and well in America for many years. But the social initiative gained momentum after a tragedy was caught on camera.
On May 25, a group of Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officers handcuffed and held Floyd face down in the street. While one officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck, the man begged for air. Floyd became another in a long line of Black Americans to die in police custody.
Woodside explained to Entertainment Tonight that, like other Black Americans, he had endured a series of negative incidents with law enforcement. And similar to the experience of countless disenfranchised citizens, for Woodside, the death of Floyd triggered PTSD from the previous ordeals.
I could tell you all about PTSD, but I don’t think I ever realized that I suffer from it until the George Floyd [death] happened. I wasn’t able to get out of bed for three days.
That’s unlike me, and it just brought up a whole lot of stuff that I guess I dismissed in my childhood. Things that had happened to me constantly, consistently with the, excuse my language, the f**king police, and trying to overcome that every day has been tough.
With George Floyd, it wasn’t anything that none of us weren’t used to seeing, but there was something about this particular incident that just broke the back of this country, and I don’t think that we can go back.
Like I said, I think that all of us have a moral responsibility to use these platforms for good, to educate people with facts and with the truth, something that we’re not getting right now from our federal government. So, it falls upon us — the citizens and those of us that have privileged positions — to be honest, and to help in whatever ways we can to change this system from inside.
DB Woodside on Entertainment Tonight
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