Justin Bieber, Jada Pinkett Smith, 50 Cent and More React to Brittney Griner's 9-Year Jail Sentence
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Many Hollywood stars demand the release of the 31-year-old basketball star after she receives the prison sentence following her guilty plea to bring less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia.

AceShowbiz - Justin Bieber, Jada Pinkett Smith and 50 Cent are among Hollywood stars who are voicing their outrage over Brittney Griner's jail sentence. Many famous faces took to social media to address the issue after the WNBA star was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for drug possession.

On Thursday, August 4, Justin took to Instagram Story to ask what he could do for Brittney. The "Justice" star wrote, "THIS HURTS. If anyone knows of anyway I can help please let me know."

As for Jada, she made use of Instagram Story to share a photo of Brittney and overlayed text that read, "On the same day where we finally got some Justice for Breonna …I find out that Brittney Griner just got 9 years in Russia." The text was followed by three heartbroken emojis and "#freebrittney."

50 Cent, in the meantime, called the situation "wild." Turning to his Instagram page to show that he was watching Fox News when the story about Brittney broke, the "In Da Club" rapper penned, "This is wild, smh. you don't ever want to get caught up in the politics, They are gonna tell her like 10 years for a vape pin watch."

Viola Davis also took to Instagram and posted a photo of Brittney. Viola captioned it, "No words. [broken heart emoji] #FreeBrittneyGriner." Meanwhile, Sherri Shepherd tweeted, "My heart breaks for Brittney Griner, her wife & her family! I need America to do all that it can to get this woman home immediately! End this nightmare! Free Brittney Griner! #BrittneyGriner."

Also expressing support for Brittney were Andy Cohen and Gabrielle Union. Turning to his Twitter page, Andy simply wrote, "BRING BRITTNEY HOME." As for Gabrielle, she posted the hashtag "WeAreBG," which many athletes and celebrities have used in the past to rally behind Brittney, on Instagram Story and urged, "Bring her home!!!"

On Thursday, a Russian judge read Brittney her verdict about an hour after her lawyers and the prosecution presented their closing arguments. The Phoenix Mercury star had given an emotional speech, reiterating her stance that though she pled guilty to bringing less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia, she did so "inadvertently" and asked the court for leniency.

"That's why I pled guilty to my charges. I understand everything that's been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty but I had no intent to break any Russian laws," Brittney, who is also said to have been fined the equivalent of $16,600 for the offense, said.

Upon learning of the prison sentence, Brittney's lawyers said in a statement that the verdict, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years, is "absolutely unreasonable" and said they will "certainly file an appeal."

President Joe Biden has called on Russia to pardon her "immediately" and claimed that his administration will work "tirelessly" until she is home. He said in a statement, "Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney."

"It's unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates," the president continued. "My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney home safely as soon as possible."

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