The filmmaker, who has been in Georgia to film the 'Black Panther' sequel, was previously detained inside an Atlanta bank after a teller accused him of staging a robbery.
- Mar 10, 2022
AceShowbiz - Ryan Coogler has finally broken his silence on his latest arrest. Having been falsely accused of robbing a bank in Atlanta, the "Black Panther" director addressed the matter through a statement.
"This situation should never have happened," the 35-year-old Oakland native pointed out. "However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on."
Ryan was handcuffed earlier this year after he was mistaken as a robber by a bank teller. In a photo obtained by TMZ, Ryan was seen wearing a green hoodie, black hat, sunglasses and a face mask when entering the bank on January 7.
Ryan reportedly gave the teller, who was described as a pregnant black woman, a withdrawal slip. On the back of the paper, there was a note that read, "I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I'd like to be discreet."
When the teller was making the transaction, she allegedly received "an alert notification from Mr. Coogler's account." It prompted her to inform her manager before they called 911.
According to the police report, the incident was "a mistake by Bank Of America and that Mr. Coogler was never in the wrong." It was also unveiled that Ryan was "immediately taken out of handcuff."
Addressing the bank robbery mix up, a spokesperson for Bank of America told Page Six on Wednesday, March 9, "We deeply regret that this incident occurred." The spokesperson added, "It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler."
That aside, Ryan has been in Georgia to film the "Black Panther" sequel. Back in April, the director was forced to defend himself for continuing the production in the state as some Hollywood projects were pulled out due to new voting laws, which restrict the rights of African-Americans in particular.
