Lauren London is opening up about her first experiences with gun violence and how the prevalent issue that killed her boyfriend Nipsey Hussle still impacts her today.
What We Know:
- The actress joined Jada Pinkett Smith for Wednesday’s Facebook Watch episode of Red Table Talk, where the two discussed the traumas of gun violence and coping with grief and loss.
Join my beautiful, Lil Sis @laurenlondon and I for a chat, before we hit the Red Table, on how women are affected by gun violence. pic.twitter.com/uY4oWONygu
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 3, 2020
“Just growing up in L.A., in the area that I was around. In high school, a lot of the boys were in gangs, and I remember that a lot of our friends, by summertime they were gone. They had transitioned from gun violence.” – Lauren London
- “It just became unfortunately like the norm,” Smith said in agreement, sharing that she was first impacted by gun violence as a teenager in middle and high school.
- London recalled going to parties in high school and immediately scouting out the exit in case anything was to happen. “That’s traumatizing,” she admitted. “To be 16-years-old and having to be on guard when you go into a party.”
- In the full episode, London and Smith discussed how women are affected by gun violence. Ever since the death of Nipsey, London has become increasingly vocal about handling tragedies and trauma. The late rapper, born Ermias Asghedom, was killed on March 31, 2019, after he was shot near his clothing store (the Marathon Clothing Company) in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 33 at the time of his murder.
- Just days before the one-year anniversary of his death, London gave advice to her followers on social media, as many people were dealing with the loss of loved ones because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Red Table Talk episode comes at a very pertinent time as a little over a week ago, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after he was pinned to the ground as white police officer Derek Chauvin placed a knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes during the arrest. Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder.
- The Facebook Watch episode first opened with the discussion of police brutality, mentioning Breonna Taylor, 26, who was shot on March 13 by Louisville Metro Police Department officers executing a drug warrant.
Red Table Talk airs Wednesdays on Facebook Watch at 9 a.m. PT/ 12 p.m. ET.
