Jay Ellis says being a new dad at this time — as protests take place across the country demanding racial equality in the wake of George Floyd’s death — has left him with complicated emotions.
“It’s a challenge,” the Insecure actor admitted of being a parent to newborn Nora Grace. “I thought just going to work and shooting 13, 14 hours with a baby was tough but this is a whole new thing. I think there are moments when I look at her and I feel guilty that I brought her into this world and where we’re at right now.”
However, while he has those moments, he also looks on the bright side — and having protested in Los Angles on Sunday, where the streets were packed and demonstrations were peaceful — he sees a lot of hope.
“Moments like seeing so many different people — faiths, backgrounds, pronouns, sexual orientations — marching for the same thing it makes me feel so happy and hopeful for the world that she’ll live in. It wasn’t the world that my parents had to endure when they were younger or my grandparents had to endure. It’s been crazy, but I try to see the silver lining in all this going on.”
Ellis said this protest had a different feeling that the other ones he’s attended.
“I’ve been out to other protests,” he said, “some of the gun reform stuff [and] Black Lives Matter moments. This was different. The number of people is amazing. It was inspiring. It was beautiful to see such a diverse crowd of people all fighting for each other, fighting against police brutality. Everyone was peaceful. On top of it, COVID is out there. So many people are putting themselves on the line. It was amazing.”
Ellis and actress and model Nina Senicar welcomed their first child, Nora Grace, on Nov. 8. The largely private couple started dating in 2015 and became engaged last year.
Senicar shared a photo from the protest and both she and Ellis shared the same viral video of the crowd in Hollywood, which LAPD put at about 50,000.
This article was originally posted on yahoo.com/entertainment/.
