"Today, the police will kill three people, and tomorrow, the police will kill three people, and the day after that, the police will kill three people because, on average, the police in America every day kill three people," Free announced throughout his acceptance speech.
Free, who was a co-winner in the live-action short category, then proceeded to quote the late writer James Baldwin and announced it was "despicable" to be indifferent to the misery black people suffer at the hands of police.
"And so I just ask that you please not be indifferent. Please don't be indifferent to our pain," Free announced.
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Free’s remarks appear as multiple high-profile police shootings have rekindled the debate over police use of force that exploded for much of 2020, which further played out amid the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted last week of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
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Free suggested early in the evening that he may use the stage to address the matter, revealing on the red carpet that he was wearing a jacket lined with the names of people who have been killed by police.
The remarks came after Regina King, the presenter who opened this year’s show, began the broadcast by taking aim at Chauvin.
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"I have to be honest. If things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I might have traded in my heels for marching boots," King said. "As a mother of a black son, I know the fear that so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes that.”
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Many other celebrities used the stage to criticize the police.
Actress and deaf activist Marlee Matlin, in presenting the documentary awards, mentioned Darnella Frazier, the young woman who shot the cellphone video of Floyd's death.
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"Their impact can be extraordinary. Whether it's a full length feature film or a cell phone video taken by a young woman in Minneapolis by the name of Darnella Frazier that became a catalyst for change," Matlin announced in sign language that was spoken by an interpreter.
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Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry spoke against hate throughout his acceptance of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, describing the impact that major civil rights cases of the past had on his mother in the heavily segregated South.
"My mother taught me to refuse hate," Perry said.
He listed those he declined to hate, such as people of color and LGBTQ people, though he actually extended a hand to police.
"I refuse to hate someone because they are a police officer," Perry said.
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