'The same fight': Backlash over vegan influencer's 'tone deaf' TikTok

A vegan influencer has copped criticism over a TikTok video she posted about Black Lives Matter.

Lauren Rebecca Perez, a 27-year-old, self-described “plant-based babe” hailing from Orlando, Florida, tweeted a video on Tuesday.

“The fight to end oppression for animals is the same fight to end the oppression of black people,” she tweeted.

In the video, which was initially shared on TikTok before being uploaded on Twitter, she says people need to “connect these two dots” and both “black lives matter and animal lives matter”.

“Literally all sentient beings on this planet deserve a life free from fear, free from abuse, free from unjust prosecution,” she says.

“It’s not their time to die, they don’t deserve to die. So stop killing black people and stop killing animals.”

Ms Perez’s video follows ongoing civil unrest in the US after the death of black man George Floyd who died in police custody.

A white police officer was filmed with his knee pressed on Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

Mr Floyd’s death has left people around the world outraged with Australians protesting in Sydney on Tuesday night, calling out not just injustices against black people, but Australia’s Indigenous people too.

But Ms Perez’s message wasn’t looked on favourably by those on Twitter who called it “ridiculous”, “tone deaf” and “an embarrassingly bad take”.

“I am passionate about animal liberation. I've been vegan for 6 years, and was vegetarian for 12 years before that,” one woman wrote.

“But this tweet comes across as really tone-deaf & cruel. You're hijacking this pivotal moment for the #BLM movement to promote your own agenda. It's a bad look.”

“No. You cannot conflate animal rights and veganism with Black Lives,” another woman tweeted.

One man added people were being told “not to group anything” with Black Lives Matter at the moment “as it detracts from its strength”.

A third woman, claiming to be a vegan, simply tweeted “now’s not the time”, while a fourth, also claiming to be on a vegan diet, called it “embarrassing”.

“Hey! I know you have good intentions but now is one of those times where it’s most helpful to amplify Black Lives Matter by itself,” another woman tweeted.

“I understand the similarity of oppression, but this video and too many of the comments underneath are reading like ‘Black people are animals’.”

While many people criticised Ms Perez, a few have echoed her sentiment.

“If you’re anti-oppression and not a vegan then you’re not anti-oppression,” one woman tweeted.

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