Pop star John Legend recently found himself under fire after urging Springfield, Ohio residents to accept the influx of Haitian migrants that have overwhelmed their working-class town. The singer, who has an estimated net worth of over $100 million and supports Kamala Harris, took to Instagram this week to encourage people in his hometown to “love one another,” specifically referring to the nearly 20,000 Haitians who have moved there due to the Biden-Harris administration’s resettlement of illegal aliens granted protected status.
I think all of us need to have the same kind of grace that we would want [for] our ancestors” with “our Haitian brothers and sisters,” Legend stated in the video, which has received a significant amount of criticism from local residents who argue that the singer’s wealth and privileged lifestyle render his opinions irrelevant.
The backlash against John Legend is indicative of the growing frustration among Americans over the Biden-Harris administration’s policies favoring illegal aliens at the expense of American citizens. In August 2023, a local child was killed when a Haitian driver without a license hit a school bus and forced it off the road.
Other residents have described how the influx has destabilized their neighborhoods and created a two-tier society that favors migrants, who receive many taxpayer-funded perks, over American citizens, who don’t. In his Instagram post, John Legend denied accounts that the Haitians are killing and eating local pets, though it remains unclear how he could authoritatively refute such allegations.
As public sentiment continues to shift against the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of immigration issues, it is clear that celebrities like John Legend will continue to face scrutiny for their attempts to influence policy through social media platforms like Instagram.