You probably know Justice Smith already. He is a 24-year-old American actor. Some of his roles include Franklin Webb in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, Justin in “Every Day”, and Theodore Finch in “All the Bright Places”. In 2017, he was nominated as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play in the Drama Desk Awards and the Lucille Lortel Awards.
And he just came out as queer.
Justice Smith came out on Saturday via Instagram after returning from the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. After the death of George Floyd, people have come out en masse in America (and many other parts of the world) to protest the recent wave of police brutality and injustice against black people in America.
In his Instagram post, he wrote:
“[Nicholas Ashe] @nckash and I protested today in New Orleans. We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice. But the revolution is not about appeal. It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning — which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence.
There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this is change, though the fight is far from over.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFCvRjhxq2/
But it wasn’t just about him coming out and speaking up for the protest. Justice Smith also posted pictures of him and his boyfriend, Nicholas Ashe “posing for the camera, brushing their teeth together, and kissing in a photo booth.” Nicholas is a 25-year-old actor who plays the role of Micah West in Ava DuVernay’s drama, Queen Sugar. Queen Sugar tells the story of the estranged Bordelon siblings in Louisiana.
Justice Smith just came out as a queer man with his boyfriend and I couldn't be more proud of him. I love him and I wish him and his boyfriend all the love, happiness and positivity in this world. Love wins 🏳️🌈❤️ pic.twitter.com/6dGEDemdDF
— ؘ (@glossyvuitton) June 6, 2020
After news of his coming-out spread online, he posted on twitter, “yo tf I didn’t come out, y’all came in”.
yo tf i didn’t come out, y’all came in
— Justice Smith (@standup4justice) June 6, 2020
