John Legend weighed in on the nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd's death while appearing on "Good Morning America" on Friday.
The singer, 41, called Floyd's death "a tragic killing" that was "horrible" and "painful" to watch.
"It inspired a lot of outrage, a lot of mourning, not only here in the United States but around the world," he said. "People had every right to be outraged and every right to protest, and I think the hopeful thing that comes from this moment of tragedy is that so many people came together to say we really need to change the system."
MORE: Haven't heard of Juneteenth? Here's what you need to know"Hopefully we'll have the tenacity and the persistence to stick with demanding that our leaders make real fundamental change in the way that we relate to police, in the way we relate to our jails and prisons in this country," he continued.
.@johnlegend weighs in on the Black Lives Matter protests happening across the country and tells us how he will be celebrating #Juneteenth by sharing the "history of great black music" with @aliciakeys. #JohnLegendOnGMA pic.twitter.com/kSoUffGa1B
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 19, 2020
Legend, who previously shared messaging on his social media platform urging his followers to defund the police, also shared his thoughts on how to change the system.
"We've spent too much money and too much of our societal energy on policing people, on locking people up," he said. "Hopefully we'll move from that era into a more safe and healthier era where we really invest in the things that are our communities need to heal and get better."
Protesters calling to defund the police want funds diverted away from police budgets and placed into funding community support systems.
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Legend also discussed his plans for Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States on Friday.
He will compete in a virtual "piano battle" with Alicia Keys to celebrate "the richness of black culture." It will air on Verzuz’ Instagram account at 8pm.
"We call it a battle, but it's really almost like a teaching tool to show people the history of this great black music that we've been making over the years and really celebrate the culture," he shared.
"Alicia and I -- we're good friends, and we've collaborated over the years ... We have a long history together and we both play the piano so thought it would be cool for us to do it," he added.
Legend also released his latest album "Bigger Love" Friday. He said he felt it was important to release his new music during this time because it's an "album full of love."
"It's a hopeful album," he added. "Hopefully it'll be inspiring for people and, you know, with all the tough times that this nation is experiencing -- that the world is experiencing -- I felt like people could use it."
Watch: John Legend performs 'Never Break' on 'GMA'
Watch: John Legend performs 'Bigger Love' on 'GMA'
