Out of the blue, fans are fuming at Charles Leclerc for his stance over the Black Lives Matter movement. An anonymous celebrity gossip Instagram account – F1 tea time – randomly asked its followers, “What has Charles[Leclerc] said that is racist?” sparking a hot debate on the matter.
While some of the fans defended the Ferrari star, other fans dug out his old comments on BLM to argue that he has made racist comments in the past. The said comments emerge from the time of widespread BLM protests when drivers kneeled before the races demonstrating their support for the cause.
At the time Leclerc had refused to kneel along with several other drivers. When asked about his decision, the Monegasque responded, “I did not want to do that (kneel) because many protests that have been all over the world are associated with cases of violence and I do not accept any form of violence”. Some of the fans interpreted this statement as black people = violence.
Fans are enraged at Charles Leclerc as they recall his racist remarks
Gossiping about Leclerc’s stance on racism, fans argued their opinions with anger as they gave proof of Monegasque’s shady take on the sensitive issue.
Meanwhile, another fan claimed that Leclerc is not racist by citing that he criticized an Italian politician for using him for his racist propaganda.
Another fan also pointed out that Leclerc was the first one among the drivers to speak out in support of Lewis Hamilton during the Nelson Piquet saga.
Furthermore, another fan schooled those who were defending Leclerc on his stance by explicitly reporting what remarks were made by him.
One of the fans presented a different point of view. According to them, Max Verstappen fans are calling Leclerc racist because they hate the Dutchman for being racist.
“I’m not racist” – Charles Leclerc
Back in 2020, when the BLM movement had reached its peak worldwide following the death of George Floyd, many of the F1 drivers had taken a knee in support of the ongoing protests. Among many others who chose to stand wearing the ‘End Racism’ shirt was Leclerc.
Following his actions, the Monegasque was accused of being racist. Clarifying to his fans, Leclerc released a statement to the La Gazzetta Dello Sport, “I’m against racism, I’m fighting it and I’m glad Formula 1 is using its platform to show the world what the right way is.”
