John Legend won’t allow anyone to speak badly about the people in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio.
The singer-songwriter speaks out baseless claims spread on the Internetamplified by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, about Haitian immigrants allegedly eating people’s pets have gotten out of control.
In a nearly six-minute Instagram video posted Thursday, Legend condemned these allegations and urged people to show mercy to our “Haitian brothers and sisters.”
Springfield, where he was born in 1978, has been “shrinking for decades,” he says, but during the Biden administration, more manufacturing jobs have been created that need workers to fill them. At the same time, he explains, Haiti erupted in chaos and the US government expanded a legal immigration program for Haitians fleeing violence.
In recent years, about 15,000 immigrants have settled in the city of about 60,000 inhabitants.
“You can imagine that integrating a new population presents some challenges,” Legend continues. “…But ultimately, these people came to Springfield because there was work for them and they were willing to work. And they wanted to live the American dream.”
Then he addressed the ugly rumors.
“Nobody eats cats. Nobody eats dogs,” he says. “We all just want to live and thrive and raise our families in a healthy and safe environment. How about we love each other?”
Legend ends the video with a nod to his roots and the name he grew up with: “John R. Stephens of Springfield, saying goodbye.”
The post has garnered more than 142,000 likes and 11,000 comments, and counting. Legend also commented on the issue during an appearance on BBC Newsnight.
The rumor about Haitian migrants began circulating on social media in the run-up to the debate, with posts from Ted Cruz, Elon Musk and JD Vance adding fuel to the fire. But what really brought the issue to the forefront was Trump’s now-viral claim on the debate stage Tuesday night: “In Springfield, they eat the dogs, the people that came here, they eat the cats.”
Officials in Springfield, Ohio, told CBS News They had not received any credible reports of Haitian migrants harming pets.
In an interview on Wednesday, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine said said CBS News“This is something that came up on the internet, and the internet can be pretty crazy sometimes.”
“These Haitians came here to work because there were jobs, and they filled a lot of them,” DeWine said. “And when you talk to the employers, they did a very, very good job and worked very, very hard.”
