Actor-writer Lin-Manuel Miranda has apologised for the delayed response to George Floyd's death, and called his silence a "moral failure".

The "Hamilton" creator took to social media to issue an apology for taking part in the "moral failure" of not speaking up amid the ongoing protests across the US over the death of Floyd in Minneapolis, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"We spoke out on the day of the Pulse shooting. We spoke out when Vice President Mike Pence came to our show 10 days after the election. And that we have not yet firmly spoken inaugural truth of Black Lives Matter and denounced systematic racism and white supremacy to our official Hamilton channels is a moral failure on our part," Miranda said in a video posted on his social media.

"As the writer of the show, I take responsibility and apologise for my part in this moral failure," he added.

He went on to apologise for "not pushing harder and faster for us to speak these self-evident truths under the ‘Hamilton' banner which has come to mean so much to so many of you".

He explained: "Hamilton doesn't exist without the black and brown artists who created and revolutionized and changed the world through the culture, music and language of hip-hop. Literally, the idea of the show doesn't exist without the brilliant black and brown artists in our cast, crew and production team who breathe life into this story every time it's performed."

Floyd, aged 46, died on Monday after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, held him down with a knee on his neck though he repeatedly pleaded, "I can't breathe", and "please, I can't breathe". Chauvin was arrested and charged with three-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday.