Actor Mark Wahlberg jumped on the bandwagon in paying his tributes to George Floyd, but he’s now been accused of hypocrisy for his own history of hate crimes. For Wahlberg, it’s a history he’s tried – unsuccessfully – to bury.
As protests and riots swept the nation following the killing of George Floyd – an unarmed black man – by a Minneapolis police officer two weeks ago, celebrities issued their usual condolences and Hollywood platitudes. Wahlberg’s message was no different, with the Hollywood heavy-hitter writing “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.”
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 ❤????❤ pic.twitter.com/F3UyhT7itQ
However, commenters reminded the ‘Ted’ star that he’s not in the best position to comment on racial issues. “Only in America can a man commit multiple hate crimes, serve only 45 days, and then go on to play an American ‘patriot’ in various films,” one wrote.
Only in America can a man commit multiple hate crimes, serve only 45 days, and then go on to play an American "patriot" in various films. pic.twitter.com/Zst6ekFC5Z
Wahlberg’s Wikipedia entry has an entire section dedicated to his past crimes, committed while he was aged between 15 and 21. Growing up on the streets of South Boston, Wahlberg threw rocks at black children while yelling racial slurs, beat a middle-aged Vietnamese man unconscious with a stick, and broke a neighbor’s jaw “without provocation or cause” after another racially-charged encounter.
For the assault on the Vietnamese man, Wahlberg was sentenced to two years in jail, but served only 45 days. Wahlberg was not yet an actor at this time, but had just released his second album with rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
On Twitter, some fans were shocked to learn that their idol had such a troubled past. However, his rise to superstardom took place before the days of ‘cancel culture’, when a celebrity could keep the skeletons in their closet hidden a little easier.
I was today years old when I found out Mark Wahlberg has an ENTIRE hate crimes section on his wikipedia page. Someone (likely on his team) has also changed the header, because it now reads "controversy." pic.twitter.com/DDeRUJO0Yg
As social media users rushed to ‘cancel’ Wahlberg, someone edited the ‘Hate Crimes’ entry on Wikipedia to read ‘Controversy’. Celebrity gossip site the Blast speculated that this may have been the work of his own PR team.The culprit is unknown, but Wahlberg has tried to edit his own record before.
After expressing a desire to apologize to his victims, the ‘Lone Survivor’ actor did manage to get in touch with the Vietnamese man, Johnny Trinh, who told the Daily Mail in 2014 that he’s forgiven his attacker.
However, when he filed for a pardon that year, one of the black fourth-graders he attacked in 1986 said he should be denied the gesture. “I don’t really care who he is,” the victim, then 38, told the Associated Press. “If you’re a racist, you’re always going to be a racist.”
Judith Beals, who had prosecuted a number of Wahlberg’s cases, wrote a column in the Boston Globe the following year claiming that the actor had never “acknowledged the racial nature of his crimes,” adding that a pardon would “highlight all too clearly that if you are white and a movie star, a different standard applies.”
Wahlberg quietly dropped his pardon request in 2016.
Back to the present day, the war for Wahlberg’s reputation is still raging on Wikipedia. Throughout Sunday afternoon, the bothersome heading on his page has changed back and forth between ‘Hate Crimes’, ‘Controversy’, ‘Racial Incidents’, and ‘Racial and Violent Incidents’.
Wahlberg himself is lying low, however. Unlike the crowds of white protesters taking a knee and swearing to renounce their own ‘white privilege’, and unlike the crowds of tearful celebrities and even Sesame Street puppets berating fans for their racism, Wahlberg limited his posting to one short tweet.
Given the Pandora’s box that one post opened, perhaps he’s decided that staying quiet is the best move.
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