John Legend is standing up for his hometown of Springfield, Ohio, following Donald Trump and J.D. Vance‘s baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in the city are eating people’s pets.
In a virtually six-minute-long clip posted on Instagram and TikTok on Thursday, Sept. 12, the Grammy winner requested his followers to “love each other” and have “the identical sort of grace that we’d need our ancestors to have after they moved right here with our Haitian brothers and sisters.”
“No one’s consuming cats. No one’s consuming canine. All of us simply wish to stay and flourish and lift our households in a wholesome and protected setting,” he stated.
The musician stated that his birthplace had been “shrinking for many years” because of not having “sufficient alternative” till President Joe Biden introduced “extra manufacturing jobs, extra vegetation, factories that wanted staff and had been prepared to rent individuals.”
In line with Springfield’s official website, the overall immigrant inhabitants in Clark County is roughly 12,000 to fifteen,000 individuals.
The inhabitants enhance is one thing that Legend stated would undoubtedly result in “rising pains” within the metropolis.
“However the backside line is these individuals got here to Springfield as a result of there have been jobs for them, they usually had been keen to work,” he stated. “They needed to stay the American dream, identical to your German ancestors, your Irish ancestors, your Italian ancestors, your Jewish ancestors. Your Jamaican ancestors, your Polish ancestors – all these ancestors who moved to this nation.”
The father of four ended his clip by expressing, “John R. Stevens [his birth name] from Springfield signing off.” He additionally changed his display name on Instagram to “John R Stephens – Springfield, Ohio.”
Springfield, Ohio, turned a subject of dialog after Vance wrote in a Monday, Sept. 9, submit on X that he has beforehand raised the problem of Haitian immigrants “inflicting chaos throughout Springfield, Ohio. Experiences now present that folks have had their pets kidnapped and eaten by individuals who should not be on this nation.”
Throughout a segment on immigration during the presidential debate on Tuesday, Sept. 10, the baseless claims had been then repeated by Trump.
“In Springfield, [Ohio,] they’re consuming the canine, the folks that got here in. They’re consuming the cats. They’re consuming the pets of the individuals who stay there, and that is what’s occurring in our nation,” he stated.
Moderator David Muir then interjected to notice that the town supervisor of Springfield has publicly said “there have been no credible experiences of particular claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by people throughout the immigrant group.”
By no means miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to remain up-to-date on the very best of what PEOPLE has to supply, from juicy superstar information to driving human curiosity tales.
Karen Graves, strategic engagement supervisor for Springfield, additionally confirmed to PEOPLE the town has not received any credible reports of Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets.