Speaking out. Celebs reacted to Derek Chauvin‘s sentencing for the murder of George Floyd shortly after it was announced on Friday, June 25—and many did not hold back when it came to sharing their candid thoughts.

Stars like Ava DuVernay, George Takei, Cher and many more took to social media to express feelings of both relief and disappointment following the sentencing. Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd in May 2020, was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison. This sentence was lighter than what prosecutors suggested, as they had urged for a 30-year sentence. Chauvin’s defense, on the other hand, requested that he be put on probation or receive a shorter sentencing.

Chauvin’s sentence was handed down by Judge Peter Cahill, who wrote in a memo that the former cop, “rather than pursuing the [Minneapolis Police Department] mission, treated Mr. Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings.” Cahill’s decision came just over two months after he found Chauvin guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd’s murder trial.

On Twitter, filmmaker Ava DuVernay was quick to weigh in on Chauvin’s sentencing. “Derek Chauvin is a murderer,” the 48-year-old director wrote on Friday. “A murderer who watched multiple people plead for the life of the man he killed in broad daylight. A murderer who placed the full weight of his body on another human being’s neck and felt the life drain out of him.”

Ahead of Cahill’s decision, actor George Takei also shared his hopes for Chauvin’s sentencing: “I want 40 years for Chauvin,” the 84-year-old Star Trek alum began. “George Floyd’s family already got a life sentence handed to them when Chauvin murdered him.” Writer Roxane Gay echoed Takei in her tweet, suggesting that Chauvin’s sentence wasn’t enough. “My goodness. 270 months in prison for Derek Chauvin, can never own firearms again, must register as a predatory offender upon release,” the Bad Feminist author wrote, noting, however, that “George Floyd is still dead.”

“It’s just a conflicted emotional response in that it’s rare for a police officer to receive this kind of sentence but I don’t know that there is a satisfying or acceptable sentence for this kind of crime,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, pop star Cher weighed in on a statement delivered by Chauvin’s mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, which referred to the convicted murderer as “a quiet, thoughtful, honorable and selfless man.”

“Understand Chauvin’s Mom Not Wanting Her Son 2 Be Gone,But GEORGE FLOYD’S MOM WILL “NEVER” SEE HER SON AGAIN,” Cher wrote. “Chauvin’s Lawyer Said ”If Only He Hadn’t Gone 2 Work That Day,Answered That call.” I SAY”IF ONLY HE HADNT PUT HIS WEIGHT ON GEORGE’S NECK FOR 9 MINS.HE HAD 9 MINS 2 STOP.”

Keep on reading for more celebrity reactions to Chauvin’s sentencing below.