Erika Jayne, 48, added her own black tile to the many that flooded Instagram on Blackout Tuesday, to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Although The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star intended to show that she’s an ally by abstaining to post content that didn’t help the cause, one fan suggested otherwise: “Your son is an officer!” The comment infuriated Erika, whose 28-year-old son, Tommy Zizzo, works for the Los Angeles Police Department.
“My son was brought up NOT to be racist. His job is to protect and serve ALL not just people that have his skin color,” Erika responded to the since-deleted comment, which she shared a screenshot of to her Instagram Story on June 2. She added, “F–k you and stay off my page.” However, in her response, Erika did not address the controversial means that her son’s workplace have used to break up protesters (i.e. rubber bullets, tear gas) that other celebrities like Halsey and Madison Beer have reported.
Countless stars have taken to the streets to march to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, despite pleading that he couldn’t breathe on May 25. Attorney Ben Crump later revealed that the father died from “asphyxiation from sustained pressure” in a statement to CNN.
Erika recently gushed about her officer son while speaking on the May 6 episode of Andy Cohen’s Sirius XM radio show. “I put him on Instagram and he’s my best-performing post,” Erika said (referring to the Instagram photo above). She added, “He didn’t choose this life, I chose this life, and you try to protect them. I don’t care if he is an adult and he carries a gun and a badge. At the end of the day, he’s still my boy, but I posted it and I’m glad I did.”
“He is a very fine young man and I’m so proud,” Erika continued. The Bravo star then revealed that she tries to keep him out of the limelight despite her reality television celebrity status, adding, “He didn’t choose this life. I chose this life and we try to protect them. I don’t care if he’s an adult and he carries a gun and a badge. At the end of the day. He’s still my boy.”