Brooklyn Nine-Nine Donating $100,000 to Bail Funds Is a Nice Start but More Needs to Be Done

Despite the Brooklyn Nine-Nine scene going around from the episode that did acknowledge police racism, the show is not innocent in perpetuating a skewed view of law enforcement.

In a move to show their support in the Black Lives Matter movement while rallying behind the cry of justice for George Floyd, the show’s co-creator, Dan Goor, took to Twitter to share that the cast and crew of Brooklyn Nine-Nine would be donating $100,000 to the National Bail Fund Network.

Now, this is a nice start, but shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as entities, need to do more. Many celebrities who benefitted from playing cops have taken to their platforms to share why others in similar situations should donate. Blue Bloods actor Griffin Newman started by donating $11,000 for playing a cop in an episode of the CBS show.

From there, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz (who brings Rosa Diaz to life on the show) matched Newman’s donation and encouraged other actors who currently play cops to do the same.

Now, $100,000 is only a “start” for the show because, while details are light on exactly who is donating and how much, that’s basically the main cast individually matching Newman’s donation, when his comments on those who have made far more money by playing cops and “do the math” seem like a pretty strong hint that others should donate more. It’s great that the cast and creator are all donating, but the show, as an entity, could do so much more than just its stars individually matching what others are already doing.

The thing is: You don’t have to bankrupt yourself. That’s not the point. The point is giving back a meaningful portion of the monetary benefit of normalizing a system that attacks the Black community. I hope this does start a trend of shows that benefitted from being cop procedurals stepping up. They made all that money off of their depiction of cops, and they should donate it to causes helping to stop police brutality now—not just actors, but all the people who made fortunes off of these shows.

(image: NBC)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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