Over the last few days, the Black Lives Matter movement has reached one of many peaks. People in the streets fighting tooth and nail for their rights to live peacefully. No longer out of fear of police brutality while fighting for the men and women who've lost their lives to it.

As such, we would expect non-black POC to stand in solidarity with us, no? Especially celebrities, no? Celebrities of all walks have made their voices clear and have used their money for good. Donating, sharing resources to help those in need during this time, and spreading information to their thousands, sometimes MILLIONS of followers.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for every celebrity. Some have stayed quiet, even stoking the flames of the situation. Such as Ryan Guzman.

Ryan Guzman was a model turned actor. He's acted in the Step Up franchise, The Boy Next Door (Opposite Jennifer Lopez.) Pretty Little Liars, but most notably he is currently a lead character on the hit TV show 9-1-1 on FOX.

On May 31st, 2020 Ryan Guzman took to Instagram live to finally address the situation at hand involving Black Lives Matter, after spending DAYS completely silent on the situation.

Throughout the live, fans, former fans, would bring up the topic of his current partner, Chrysti Ane, known to many in the 9-1-1 fandom as GG (Gun Goddess, a nickname she gave herself.) and her use of the N-word on Twitter 9 years prior.

Chrysti Ane is not black.

Ryan Guzman is not black.

He said, and I quote; "And now we're talking about different things now, now we're talking about her using the N word. Let's address it, okay? You're telling her that she can't speak through Twitter to her Black friends that have allowed her to say that back and forth to them, specifically? Mind you, that is a private conversation had on a social platform," -Ryan Guzman

At this point, he's pulled the "She had black friends who gave her the pass." card. Which does not exist. She is not black. She should not be saying the n word.

He continued saying; "That being said, I have plenty of friends - Black, white, Asian, Indian, Korean - and we make fun of each other's races all the time. We call each other slurs ALL the time. We don't get butthurt at all."

Here he's admitted to CURRENTLY using racial slurs amongst his friends.

"I know, for sure, that all of our friends would speak up to say the same thing."

The day after this Instagram live, multiple actors who work alongside him on 9-1-1 on FOX have spoken out against him. But, is that enough? 9-1-1 covers sensitive topics such as racial profiling from the police etc, should an actor like Ryan Guzman be allowed to work on the show despite saying racial slurs? Despite all the deflecting and half-hearted apologies?

Ryan Guzman plays a firefighter, Eddie Diaz on the show. The character is beloved, particularly because of the relationship displayed between the character himself and his son, Christopher. While the first thought could be to completely write the character off of the show, the fans would like nothing less than to see the character of Christopher Diaz go away. So we would suggest recasting the character of Eddie Diaz.

There are so many talented Hispanic actors in Hollywood who are standing with us during this movement. No slurs, no ignorance, no half-hearted apologies. Recasting the character of Eddie Diaz for the future of 9-1-1 on FOX would result in a healthier relationship between the show and its large audience, knowing that both the producers and the network do not stand for this level of ignorance.