What celebrities said about the January 6 Capitol riot

After the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 - including some incredible, historic scenes of violence - many celebrities spoke out about the event on social media.

The majority of the stars were against the riots, but some continued to support Donald Trump and said they understood the invaders.

Former president Barack Obama left a statement about the riot on Twitter that did not fit into 280 characters.

"History will rightly remember today's violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation," he wrote in his long statement.

The American singer, who's always been very outspoken about her political convictions, also left a message on Twitter to denounce the riots at the U.S. Capitol.

"As a United States Citizen, and the daughter of two veterans and the sister of another, I am ashamed of what is happening in Washington. Hypocrisy, shame, Embarrassment. Unpatriotic hypocritical sheep keep drinking poison kool aid. This is a sad day for America."

There were also a few celebrities who support Trump, even after the riot of January 6. Kirstie Alley, the actress who became famous for her role as Rebecca in 'Cheers,' watched the events unfold and wrote a short message suggesting the elections had been unfair: "Injustice breeds chaos."

Singer Ricky Martin was also watching the news. He posted a photo of himself with a worried expression, saying: "In front of the TV screen waiting for the 25th amendment to be invoked." The constitutional amendment he referred to, is the one that permits Congress to remove a president immediately if it finds he is "not capable of carrying out his powers and duties in office."

A number of celebrities compared the Capitol riot to Black Lives Matter protests and argued that the police was much rougher on the BLM activists than on the pro-Trumpers assaulting the Capitol building. Rapper 50 Cent was one of those celebrities making the comparison.

The rapper made few extensive remarks about the riot but instead tweeted an image of the Capitol building's security at the time of the antiracist protests. It looked a lot more forceful than the police presence during the riots of January 6.

Captain America of the Marvel superhero movies, Chris Evans, had a similar impression of the Capitol's security as 50 Cent.

Referring to the mild treatment of the Capitol rioters by security personnel and law enforcement, Chris Evans said: "Just think of the carnage had they not been white." His remark implied that the persecution of (often African-American) BLM protesters was much rougher than that of the pro-Trump rioters.

Chachi from 'Happy Days' has always supported Donald Trump and continues to do so. The day after the riot he tweeted: "How much fraud, corruption, and acts of treason does it take to justify President @realDonaldTrump declaring Martial Law and rescuing our country?" Mind you, he was not suggesting action against the rioters, but against the Congressmen and women who had voted to certify Joe Biden's win.

Jennifer Lopez felt that she could not give a better response to the events of January 6 than the words of president-elect Joe Biden.

She retweeted Joe Biden's statement about the assault on the Capitol: "At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward."

The singer Cardi B was very active showing her discontent with the events on her social media platforms. She had also been one of the vocal Joe Biden supporters at the time of the elections.

"The irony is really funny. Weren't we wild animals in the summer for asking for justice on the Capitol?" she tweeted, referring to media and right-wing coverage of Black Lives Matter protests. "And now? Let me see."

"Just imagine if this was our side," actor Mark Ruffalo (aka the 'Hulk') tweeted. With "our side," he meant the people opposing president Trump.

"There would be rivers of blood in the streets and not a single one of us would be armed." He added that he believed law enforcement had "allowed" this "coup attempt" to happen.

Actor Kevin Sorbo did not believe that the riot at the U.S. Capitol was a pro-Trump event. Buzzfeed gathered a few tweets from him over the course of the day, in which we can see his opinion changing as the assault unfolds.

First, 'Hercules' appeared excited about the revolt. "It's happening," he tweeted, and shortly after: "History is being made..."

(@ksorbs on Twitter, via Buzzfeed)

Once he became aware of the backlash against the rioters and their lack of success in disturbing the Congressional meeting, Sorbo's tone changed. It must have been people from the 'other side' posing as Trumpers, he argued, since it was such a chaos and made Trump supporters look bad.

Kristy Swanson, originally 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' before Sarah Michelle Geller took over, was a staunch Trump supporter. She could not believe that a shirtless man with bison accessories was really a Trumper making a serious statement in the Capitol.

These were not Trump supporters, Swanson suggested, but "Fweedom actors." She wasn't entirely wrong: Jake Angeli, the bison man, was an aspiring actor before he became a spokesperson for QAnon and pro-Trumpers.

Bison man Jake Angeli was arrested and pleaded guilty to the felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding. He had to serve 41 months in prison. So no, Kristy, he was not just an actor...

Selena Gomez was upset by the events and addressed social media platforms as the culprits. "Today is the result of allowing people hate in their hearts to use platforms that should be used to bring people together," she declared in a tweet.

She tagged all the social media bosses in her tweet: "Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey, Sundar Pichai, Susan Wojcicki - you have all failed the American people today, and I hope you're going to fix things moving forward." The actress/singer referred to the fact that social media companies have long allowed hate speech on their platforms with the argument of free speech.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew his own conclusions from the events of January 6 - both the riots and Trump's online response to them. "The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use the remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor," he wrote after Facebook had removed a number of messages by Donald Trump from the platform.

Zuckerberg continued: "His decision to use his platform to approve rather than condemn the actions of his supporters in the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the United States and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect (and probably their intent) would be to provoke more violence."

The best-selling author Stephen King did not refrain from adding his opinion to the public debate. "The only thing that might stop this is for Donald Trump to concede the election."

Actress Samaire Armstrong, known from 'The O.C.' and 'The Mentalist,' is a fervent supporter of Donald Trump. She tweeted several things in favor of her fellow pro-Trumpers in Washington DC, but Buzzfeed found the one that best captured her spirit.

"What happens when people learn the TRUTH? What happens when people WAKE UP?" she asked rhetorically. "They will not be able to walk down the street. THE GREAT AWAKENING."

"My heart is broken," Demi Lovato tweeted on the day of the riot. "It makes me so sad to believe how naïve I was to think that his couldn't possibly happen, and yet it did." The singer announced that she was in the study making a special song about "today's assault on democracy."

"Here we are," she continued. "For everyone in my comments asking 'where's d7' or wanting me to sing instead of speaking up about what needs to happen in this country...  THIS IS WHY I POST AS MUCH AS I DO. THIS IS WHY I CARE. THIS CANNOT HAPPEN ANYMORE. I'm angry, embarrassed, and ashamed."

He played a hero in 'Independence Day' and a clown in 'National Lampoon,' but these days you might judge him depending on your political beliefs. The elder brother of Dennis Quaid has always been an outspoken pro-Trumper. On January 8, he had something controversial to say about the attack on the Capitol.

"The massive rally on [Wednesday], Trump's speech, the March to the Capitol, were all appropriate acts by Patriotic Americans protesting against Socialism being negotiated in Our House," he tweeted. "Americans do not want Socialism! They want Freedom! Condemn ANTIFA, not the Warriors for Freedom!"

(@RandyRRQuaid on Twitter, via Buzzfeed)

As always, Hillary Clinton had a comment ready for the day's events. The former presidential candidate called the rioters "domestic terrorists" and said that "leaders must live up to their responsibility to protect [democracy]". Mind how she does not mention the name Trump, but we all know she's referring to the president.

See the incredible images of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021