Things We Saw Today: John Boyega Says He Hates Racists, Which Should Not Be a Controversial Statement

Earlier today, John Boyega tweeted what should have been the least controversial statement possible: He said he hates racists.

Sure, maybe some people took issue with his use of a swear word, since some of his 1.6 million followers are likely on the younger side. He says he doesn’t care.

But it was more the message itself that a lot of people seemed to have a problem with. His responses were filled with chastisers, telling him “hate is a strong word” or that not just Black people experience racism. But for one thing, as Boyega said, this is his own personal account. He can be allowed to express his feelings based on his own personal experience. And given the context of the last few days, with a flood of headlines about racism and racial violence and police brutality aimed specifically at Black people, a lot of people apparently need a reminder that Not Everything Is About Them.

Boyega moved over to Instagram Live to clarify even further that he meant what he said.

There should be no less controversial statement than “I hate racists.” Literally the only people that should take offense to that are out & proud racists and no one else needs to care about their feelings.

Plus, Boyega obviously got the only approval he needs.

• Glen Mazzara’s defunct Dark Tower Amazon series was going to be everything the movie wasn’t. (via i09)
• So many movie adaptations fail to live up to their literary source material, but what movie was better than the book it was based on? My big ones are Silence of the Lambs and American Psycho. You? (via Pajiba)
• The Doubleclicks have a new video out, using all Animal Crossing footage for a song about Animal Crossing!
  
• Speaking of music videos, Mel C (aka Sporty Spice) is back with a new one, and it’s Street Fighter-themed. (via YouTube)
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is back tonight for the start of its final season! This is a great article on how the show has constantly reinvented itself throughout its entire run. (via Vulture)
• Still relevant:
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  A burn from 1918 that remains relevant pic.twitter.com/COx2szwgci

  — laura olin (@lauraolin) May 27, 2020

• Playwright and gay rights & AIDS activist Larry Kramer has passed away at age 84. (via NPR)
• Here’s a great account from Joel Grey on meeting and working with Kramer. (via Variety)
• And here’s a great example of how to absolutely butcher an obituary. Really, just a stunning embarassment from the New York Times.
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  Ah, the ol’ marginalized-people-speaking-truth-to-power-are-the-real-abusers,-actually approach https://t.co/AVZV0Ae0rm

  — 🌬Mistress Snow, PhD (@MistressSnowPhD) May 27, 2020

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  This is how many times @nytimes had to correct Larry Kramer’s obit today. Its the 2nd time this has happened to a queer rights icon in a month. First Aimee Stephens deadnamed, now this. Would dignity ever be denied to a fallen civil rights hero who was a straight, white, cis man? pic.twitter.com/2RyovZSmso

  — Kmart Ronan Farrow (@Nico_Lang) May 27, 2020

What did you all see out there today?

(image: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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