Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg has been slammed by many on social media for his past convictions for hate crimes against people of colour after he shared a message supporting the Black Lives Matters movement.
The 49-year-old actor paid tributes to George Floyd, an African-American man whose death in police custody triggered nationwide protest against systemic racism and police brutality, saying people need to come together to eradicate discrimination from the world.
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, Wahlberg posted on Instagram alongside Floyd's picture.
However, a number of people were quick to call out the actor for history of offences against people of colour.
Wahlberg served 45 days in prison in 1988 after attacking two Vietnamese men, while he was issued a civil rights citation two years earlier when he was among a group of white teenagers who hurled rocks and shouted kill the n****s' at a group of mostly black students.
"Mark Wahlberg hurled rocks at black children while screaming Kill the n*****s! He beat a Vietnamese man unconscious and was charged for attempted murder. He's committed at least 5 hate crimes. He only apologised while seeking a pardon 26 years later," comic book artiste Adam Ellis posted on Twitter.
Publicist Danny Deraney wrote, "If you still don't know what white privilege is, Mark Wahlberg committed hate crimes, has a Wikipedia section dedicated to it, and we never ever talk about it."
Few people highlighted that while Star Wars actor John Boyega fears losing his career over supporting Black Lives Matter movement, Wahlberg still remains one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
"John Boyega is afraid he might lose his career because he is protesting against racism and police brutality, but Mark Wahlberg has a whole hate crimes section on his Wikipedia page and is one of the highest paid actors in the world," a user tweeted.
Since the social media backlash, the title of the Hate crimes section on actor's Wikipedia page has been changed to Racial incidents.
Some of Wahlberg's fans came to his defense saying it is important to observe the change in the actor's attitude over the years.
"In 1986. You're tryna cancel him for something from 34 years ago. He's since made HUGE strides to try to right his wrongs. In 1991 he even made a song talking about racism (look up Wildside by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch). This is f**ked up but people are allowed to grow (sic)," a tweet read.
Another fan wrote: "Does modern society offer any pathways to societal #redemption anymore? If people cannot have racism in their past, overcome it and then speak out in support of said race, what is the point of educating and building empathy? Will changed people always be persecuted?"
Wahlberg has not yet responded to the criticism.
