Stevie Wonder has joined the push for voting rights bills with an open message for senators.
“Any senator who cannot support the protection of voting rights in the United States of America cannot say they support the Constitution. Stop the hypocrisy, cut the bull-tish,” the award-winning performer said in a video message posted on his YouTube channel.
“If you care and support our rights, do the hard work. You can’t please everybody but you can protect all of us and to keep it all the way real: The filibuster is not working for democracy, why won’t you?” he added.
The singer’s message comes as the Senate is expected to take up voting rights legislation on Tuesday. Democrats have been facing pressure from civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s family, and President Joe Biden, who has thrown his full support behind changing Senate filibuster rules to pass the legislation.
But Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who have long expressed opposition to changing filibuster rules — necessary to get the bills over the finish line — remain unmoved.
This isn’t the first time the singer has released a video calling out lawmakers.
Last year, Wonder was among several celebrities who released videos backing efforts for the formation of the first federal racial justice commission tasked with examining the country’s history of systemic racism against Black people, addressing inequities and backing efforts to provide reparations for slavery.
