John Legend, Eddie Vedder and other stars who have taken a knee
— -- NFL players have been both applauded and condemned for kneeling during the national anthem, but they're not alone in the act.
Celebrities from John Legend to "X-Files" stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have also shared photos of themselves with the hashtag #takeaknee.
Actress Olivia Wilde uploaded a photo of herself kneeling alongside her castmates in the Broadway show "1984" and thanked the "electric audience" for their support.
"Proud to be a part of this cast who took a knee as our curtain closed today," she added in a caption.
On Friday, President Donald Trump made a speech in Huntsville, Alabama, during which he called on the NFL team owners to discipline any player who knelt during the national anthem. The trend began last year, when quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is not currently signed to a team, knelt during "The Star-Spangled Banner" to protest treatment of minorities in the United States. Since then, several others have followed suit.
"That's a total disrespect of our heritage. That's a total disrespect of everything that we stand for," Trump said on Friday. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired!'?"
Roger Goodell, the league's commissioner, responded soon thereafter with a statement of his own, and many players linked arms in a show of unity during Sunday's games. Last night, the Dallas Cowboys and their owner, Trump donor Jerry Jones, took a knee before the playing of the national anthem.
“Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities," Goodell said.
