Nikki and Brie Bella feel “broken” by the death of George Floyd

George’s death has sparked conversations about systemic racism in the US with protests for the Black Lives Matter movement taking place across the country, and the two former wrestling professionals have said they have been “blown away” by some of the “ignorant” comments they’ve seen regarding the situation.

Brie said: "This whole racism situation in America … a lot of it has been affecting me, but George Floyd, that one really got me. And in a way, I feel like it got everyone where it just broke you.

“And to the point that Nikki and I wanted to speak on this because it's at the point where I, literally, the last couple days, I had to get off social media because you do see the big debate. I'm blown away by some ignorant comments I see because I put up a post about racism and parenting, and I could not believe what some people were saying back to me.”

The twins are both currently pregnant, and Brie - who already has two-year-old daughter Birdie with her husband Daniel Bryan - says she couldn’t imagine raising her children to be prejudiced.

She added: "You're not born racist. You learn it. And where you learn it is your household. You learn it from your parents. You're raised in it. And it's our duty as parents to teach our kids to not be racist, to love everyone, show kindness.

"I just want all of you out there to just really, right now, just look and see, what is it your kids hear in their house? And what do you teach them? Because we can teach them the ABCs. I can teach Birdie all about the solar system. But the one thing that I do always teach Birdie is kindness and that every single person is equal. And she will always know that in our household.”

And Nikki - who is expecting her baby with her fiancé Artem Chigvintsev - echoed many of her sister’s comments, before going on to talk about the importance of using their platform to raise awareness for the issue.

She said: "We have to use our platforms more than ever now to promote not being racist; to stick up for the black community. Because what is happening here in America, it's not okay. Like, I will fight anyone on that. It is not okay to kneel on someone's neck like that, and they're telling you they can't breathe? It's disgusting to me. And it's not okay. And the fact that we didn't get justice right away, that is what caused all this. We needed justice.

"We're in 2020 and there's no reason for any of this. You should never be scared to jog in your own neighbourhood because of the colour of your skin. You should never be scared to be pulled over because of the colour of your skin. You should never be afraid to do anything in the United States of America because of the colour of your skin."