People question SAG Awards' decision to have the 'Transformers: The Last Knight' actor present the best ensemble trophy to the Asian cast of 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' after his criminal past.
- Feb 28, 2023
AceShowbiz - Mark Wahlberg's appearance at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards turned out to be bad PR. The actor and SAG Awards are catching flak after he presented an award to "Everything Everywhere All at Once" cast considering his alleged past hate crimes.
During the live telecast on Sunday, February 26, the 51-year-old star announced the winner of the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, which went to the Daniels' comedy-drama film, with predominantly Asian stars. Images show Wahlberg having an exchange with Ke Huy Quan, who also won an award for best supporting actor for his role in the movie.
The decision to have "The Fighter" star present the award to the Asian cast of "Everything Everywhere" has since drawn backlash, with many citing his criminal past. "I feel like if Mark Wahlberg (or his management) wanted his checkered racist past to fade into obscurity, presenting the SAG award to EEEAAO would not have been on the list of gigs to take," one person reacted on Twitter.
Another pointed out, "Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Mark Wahlberg, the man who presented a SAG Award to the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once, once go to jail for committing a hate crime against a Vietnamese man. An interesting choice, no?"
A third said, "The irony of Mark Wahlberg giving an award to EEAAO," while a fourth critic called it "extremely sinister." Someone claimed that having Wahlberg present the award was "arguably a worse awards show f**k up" than the "La La Land"/"Moonlight" Best Picture mix-up at the Oscars in 2017.
Ryan Aguirre, a publicist, sarcastically tweeted of the incident, "Good for Mark Wahlberg, standing on a stage with all those Asian people without assaulting any of them." Others pointed out that Will Smith was not given the same opportunity after his controversial Oscars slap.
Matt Samet, an attorney from California, tweeted, "REALLY interesting that Will Smith wasn't invited to present Best Actress while Mark Wahlberg is presenting the ensemble award to a film with a predominantly Asian cast when he punched and barely blinded a Vietnamese man…." Journalist and commentator Torraine Walker chimed in, "Will Smith ostracized while Mark Wahlberg get to present an award to an Asian cast."
Still, there were a few who defended Wahlberg, with one saying, "People can't change from when they're teenagers?"
Wahlberg was accused of racist attack in 1988, when he was 16 years old, after assaulting a middle-aged Vietnamese-American man on the street, calling him a "Vietnam f**king s**t" and knocking him unconscious with a large wooden stick. Later the same day, he attacked Johnny Trinh, another Vietnamese-American, punching him in the eye.
When he was arrested, the teen Wahlberg "made numerous unsolicited racial statements about 'gooks' and 'slant-eyed gooks.' " He was charged with attempted murder, pleaded guilty to felony assault, and was sentenced to two years in jail, but served only 45 days of his sentence.
In 2014, Wahlberg applied for a pardon from the State of Massachusetts for his convictions, but eventually dropped it in 2016. In an interview with AP in December 2014, he said, "I have apologized, many times. The first opportunity I had to apologize was right there in court when all the dust had settled and I was getting shackled and taken away, and making sure I paid my debt to society and continue to try and do things that make up for the mistakes that I've made."
