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Baltimore drug traffickers block Natalie Portman, advocate of police defunding, from filming series

The actress, who supported the #defundthepolice movement, will need police resources to solve the problem.

Natalie Portman

(Cordon Press)

Published by
Alejandro Baños

The series Lady in the Lake starring Natalie Portman was forced to stop filming in Baltimore last Friday after a group of drug dealers extorted money from the crew. An issue that necessitates the intervention of the police despite Portman supporting its de-funding in 2020.

Her public support for the #defundthepolice movement was conveyed through her Instagram account -whose post was later deleted-. At the time, Portman criticized the police for keeping the white population safe and generating fear among black citizens:

When I first heard #defundthepolice, I have to admit my first reaction was fear. My whole life, police have made me feel safe. But that’s exactly the center of my white privilege. The police make me as a white woman feel safe, while my black friends, family and neighbors feel the opposite: police make them feel terror.

Thus, the Oscar-winning actress asked the administrations to deprive all police departments of taxpayers' money. Now, Portman will now need to look to the police to solve a problem which she was so outspoken against, so that the production will be able to continue filming the series in Baltimore.

The movement for police defunding emerged after the death of George Floyd in 2020 and received the backing of personalities such as actress Susan Sarandon and model Emily Ratajkowski, in addition to that of Portman.

Extortion and threats

A group of locals showed up Friday afternoon on the set of the series in Baltimore and asked the production crew for $50,000 so they could continue filming.

The events occurred while they were filming scenes in the center of the city, during the shoot, a group of drug traffickers appeared and asked the production for the money. Such was the magnitude of the events that the crew received threats of gunshots if they did not deliver the money.

The immediate consequence was the shutdown of filming and quickly proceeded by the producers filing a police report about the incident.

Crime in Baltimore

Crime in Baltimore has increased this year through the January-July period compared to 2021. There were 6.1% more violent crimes compared to the same period last year.

This makes Baltimore the fifth fastest growing city in terms of crime, behind New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

In addition, Baltimore is, at 29.1%, the second city in the country with the highest murder rate per 100,000 population.

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