The son of “Will & Grace” star Debra Messing is making news for protesting during the national anthem.
The actress revealed that her 13-year-old son, Roman, recently asked to sit during the “Star Spangled Banner” at a New York Rangers hockey game, reports the Daily Mail.
Debra relayed their conversation on Instagram.
Photo Credit: Instagram via Daily Mail
Son: “Mom, I want to sit down in protest. Can we do that?” Me: “Yes, honey. We can do that.”
She then added: “Who’s crying? I’m not crying. #BLM”
The accompanying photo shows Roman sitting in his seat, with his hand placed over his heart.
He also did not remove his baseball cap, but it is unclear whether that was in protest, or simply because removing one’s hat for certain occasions is not as common as it once was.
The post received a mixed response.
Most of the comments were positive. Some supporters even have military backgrounds, or have loved ones who do.
“God bless you! I am so moved that all the Comments from servicemen and servicewomen are so fully supportive of him peacefully protesting injustice and violence,” wrote Debra in response to those individuals.
“The right to Speak is the earmark of a great Democracy, one that these service people have sacrificed so much to ensure stays strong,” she added. “We sang out loud with our hands on our hearts, Thank you to you noble service people for your service and for speaking out on this feed.”
Photo Credit: Instagram via Daily Mail
However, there were also many critics of her post.
“You teach your kid to respect a cop hating group that inspired the killing of police?!” one person wrote. “You should be ashamed!! Teaching your son to hate his country and the police!”
Protesting during the national anthem was sparked in 2016 by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who wanted to bring attention to racial injustices by refusing to stand during the traditional playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Although the movement has been diminishing in numbers and Kaepernick is no longer with the NFL — widely believed to have been blacklisted by the league for his actions — several players continue to protest before their games.
