Those who follow One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush on Instagram know how passionate she is about political advocacy. She speaks her truth and hands the microphone to others who can benefit from her platform.
However, her constant willingness to speak up comes with its scary and confusing backlash. She delivered a solemn message on her Instagram story to address the inappropriate threats she's received.
Death Threats
She wrote in a text-only Instagram story, "The last week has been heartbreaking. To watch. To feel helpless in the face of... to have no answers. Individually? To be screamed at, sent death threats for 'not speaking' despite doing so."
The disregard for the power of words by millions of online accounts is appalling.
Celebrities like Bush deal with threats like she mentioned, showing how much the human aspect of the internet gets lost in technology. Despite her kind approach to online criticizes, it sounds like she's had enough.
The actress continued on her pull between clashing 'sides' of society, "For 'speaking for the wrong side' (coming from both sides) despite sharing as much information from multiple perspectives as I feel I safely can."
"While avoiding misinformation and dog whistles that have been used in genocides, and dangerous, weaponized hate disguised as 'infographics,' and being told I've wrongly picked each side."
It's unclear if she is specifically mentioning a post or quote that caused this amount of outrage against her. It could be referencing the current Israel-Palestinian conflict, but that is only an educated guess based on celebrities' recent statements on the matter.
Her Takeaway From The Hate
"Trying to provide multiple perspectives on this issue for days, is now flooding my inbox with threats of violence which make me want to disappear, but I also don't want to be intimidated or be silent..."
Her conclusion loudly pointed out the difference between individuals and their forms of government.
"PEOPLE ARE NOT THEIR GOVERNMENTS. The average citizen, in either place, did not cause this. Not now, and not over generations. Let's all please gather around each other to offer aid, challenge leaders to do better, and support people on the ground."
"People deserve peace. And the hatred boiling over for PEOPLE rather than controlling forces that don't care if people are harmed? That misplaced rage only ensures that those doing harm will remain in power to do so."