Alison Hammond broke down on This Morning after she gave an emotional speech about George Floyd’s death.
The presenter struggled to hold back the tears as she spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield over the phone about Floyd’s tragic death and the movements Black Lives Matter and Blackout Tuesday.
Floyd died after being arrested in Minneapolis, with footage showing a police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes, despite him crying out: ‘I can’t breathe!’
‘Firstly I am a mother of a 15-year-old black boy,’ Alison began.
‘When I saw that image of George Floyd, I saw, my brothers, my father and I saw my son and I was disgusted to my core.
‘It hurt me to the pit of my stomach to think this is 2020 and we are seeing that and, let’s be honest, this has been going on forever. My whole life, my mum’s life, my father’s life, everyone’s life.’
Speaking about the movement, which is also referred to with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused – was created in response to Floyd’s devastating death.
Alison continued: ‘I believe this movement, Black Lives Matter, is so very important and so wonderful when I see my white, my Asian brother and sisters standing by Black Lives Matter it means they understand.
‘They can’t understand fully but they understand what we are going through as black people.
‘And don’t get offended, I am not trying to offend white people, it’s basic goodness, it’s about the fact that if black lives mattered then we wouldn’t be in this situation.’
Alison went on to explain that Floyd’s death has also had an impact on her mental health.
She added: ‘Seeing George Floyd lying on the floor dead, that does have an impact on my mental health.’
This Morning viewers quickly rushed to social media to praise Alison on her powerful speech.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
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