Good vibrations are the last thing some critics are sending the way of rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg after he took to social media to bemoan the death of George Floyd.
Invoking the hashtag #Blacklivesmatter on his official Instagram handle four days ago, Wahlberg stated:
“The murder of George Floyd is heartbreaking. We must all work together to fix this problem. I’m praying for all of us. God bless. ❤️🙏❤️#blacklivesmatter“
The Academy Award nominee may have thought he – like many fellow celebrities – was using his platform to shed light on racial injustice. Instead, his “activism” only encouraged light to be shed on his own reported racist past.
Details inside:
While some praised Mark’s proclamation as proof he stood in solidarity with the movement, others were triggered by memories of reports of his racist acts.
His Wikipedia biography has an entire section dedicated to the two main incidents referred to.
In April 1988, Wahlberg experienced his most high-profile racially-motivated case where he reportedly beat two Vietnamese men on different days, yelled racial slurs at the them, and was even charged with attempted murder. He pleaded guilty to felony assault and only spent the first 45 days of a two-year sentence in jail.
While rumors swirl that there are other hate crimes he was not officially charged for, they have not been verified. After commenters started creating traction around his past, the actor’s team updated his Wikipedia page (June 7) to rearrange how the story was told – replacing terms like “hate crimes” and “racial incidents” with “legal issues.”
Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to deter detractors. See highlights below:
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Fans of the actor know this isn’t the first time his past was dragged into public view. Back in 2014, he took to the ‘Today Show’ to ask for a ‘public pardon’ and even discussed the rehabilitative measures he’s taken since spending time in jail for the assaults.
Start at 3:50:
[main photo source: Getty Images]
He’s racist, homophobic, and just an asshole in general
I didn’t know that, wow.
He ain’t s***.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
ClarksCOON is once again upset that no HOT gay male (black or White) gives him the time of day in real life. Then is attacking his race
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
How’s your new blog doing ? 🤣🤣🤣 A failure just like your life
African American people have accomplished quite a lot in America.
So sorry that you weren’t granted opportunities. Start putting your money where your mouth is and build your blog 🤣
So first we drag Lea Michelle cuz she didn’t pay the price and now Mark? At least for him he did pay the price. Period.
What price did he pay?
45 days in jail for blinding an Asian man. He literally destroyed another person’s eye sight.
He nearly killed somebody.
He has not paid any price, intact he has been rewarded with a Hollywood career and given millions of dollars and opportunities cause of his white skin.
Thought this was common knowledge
He is still a piece of shìt.
A white thug.
Of course he’s a racist. Just about all of them are. Not a surprise at all.
Bet those Calvin Klein tightie whities gettin’ tighter now, Marky Mark.
What sense does it make to demand that people confront their racial bias and then attack them years later when they attempt to demonstrate a change of belief? And then you get MORE angry when racist people don’t listen and remain completely unchanged. What am I missing? Is there a checklist for determining who is no longer racist?
Think about how many people have loved ones behind bars who are denied parole all because someone doesn’t believe they’ve changed. Think about how black victims are instantly criminalized because people want to hold their past against them. Mark has had no racial incidents since the 1990s, but here we are holding something over his head some 25 years later while telling white people that Ahmaud’s past or George’s past shouldn’t be used against them.
You can literally SENSE the a**hole in his presentation, personality, and ugly a** smug face! I can’t stand him.
Also, I wonder how many interns Matt Laurer r*ped that week at the office. Pure disgust!
Is Wikipedia a reliable source???? Are u kidding me? Y”all just created more hatred.
This was in the 80’s, people can’t grow within that time period? This is a witch hunt now!
I agree to a certain extent to that.
I’d like to believe that changing is possible.
But in his case, or celebrities in general, I’m just wondering if excuses are genuine. Or just for the sake of their career…
I mean he WAS racist! But is he STILL racist? he could be a new man or is this a case of leopards can’t change their spots, it does seem like hes grown up out of his ignorance
My comments on important issues are being censored
U ser the problem
They dont want u to talk
It’s everywhere
They do it on Twitter and Instagram
They do it on YouTube and reddit.
Are u people so damaged that u are allergic to the truth?
I feel like the only person of color who understands history repeats itself and the more we protest and riot and scream for change the more damage we are doing. The economy has suffered because of the c******* pandemic. Now looters have created over $400 million in damages and that number rises. How are we going to create more opportunities if we keep putting companies into a position where they are going to have to eliminate jobs and some are forced to close their doors in areas that have been vandalizing or looted. Nothing will ever be the same after this pandemic and push for change – I thing the upcoming “change” will be more detrimental than positive.
On the other hand, people do change.