Morgan Freeman (Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / Everett Collection)
Legendary actor Morgan Freeman detests the terms “Black History Month” and “African American,” and characterized them as “insults.”
Freeman, 85, told The Sunday Times that BHM is woefully insufficient because it relegates the celebration of Blacks’ monumental contributions to American society to just a few weeks.
“Two things I can say publicly that I do not like: “Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” he asked the newspaper rhetorically.
“Also ‘African-American’ is an insult. I don’t subscribe to that title. Black people have had different titles all the way back to the N-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses ‘African-American.’ What does it really mean?”
Freeman did have some positive things to say about racial, gender and ethnic relations in the United States. The Oscar winner, who was once hailed as “America’s greatest actor,” says the country’s media has improved as it pertains to the percentage of disadvantaged groups’ representation in that occupation.
“Generationally, though, I do think we’re moving ahead in leaps and bounds,” Freeman opined to the publication. “LGBTQ, Asians, Black, White, interracial marriages, interracial relationships. All represented. You see them all on screen now and that is a huge jump.”
Freeman has made some missteps regarding overall human rights issues, according to some social media users. During the apex of the pandemic and the racial reckoning in America, Freeman said he was pro-police and adamantly renounced those who advocated for reducing or defunding the police.
And in 2022, Freeman was slammed on Twitter for his affiliation with the FIFA World Cup amid reports of rampant human rights abuses in the Middle East.
“For a man who played Nelson Mandela — who knew better than anyone the impact and importance of isolation on a country and its success on the ground to change that nation’s policy,” one Twitter user said in his harangue of Morgan. “It is so disappointing to see #MorganFreeman take the money and support an oppressive regime.”
