Michael B Jordan Sorry About ‘GQ’ Interview And Says Black Lives Matter In New Open Letter
Michael B. Jordan, is taking back some of the controversial statements he made in a recent GQ interview and cover story. In the article, Jordan talked about a number of things, including going for roles meant for white actors and the “backlash” he received from his black female fans about rumors that he was dating Kendall Jenner.
Here are some of the quotes a lot of people found offensive.
“They [the fans] see white and black. I don’t. Kendall’s a friend of mine, you know. I don’t know her, like, that well, but I know her enough… A lot of black fans were feeling like, ‘Oh, my God, he should have been with a black woman’ and that whole thing. I get it, but on the other hand it’s, like, relax. You know — it’s 2015. It’s okay! People can like one another, not necessarily from the same history or culture or whatever the f**k it is. It’s just the new world, you know what I mean?”
A lot of his followers weren’t here for Michael B Jordan’s color-blind politics, especially since there were also rumors of him making a Snapchat video where he stated, “All Lives Matter.”
You guys are surprised Michael B. Jordan is an AllLivesMatter herb? Have you seen his shoes? pic.twitter.com/11WqjmC0Ex
— DarkSkintDostoyevsky (@daniecal) September 23, 2015
But now Michael is singing a different tune. In an open letter published on Essence.com, Jordan apologizes for disappointing his fans and clarifies his position on the Black Lives matter/All Lives Matter debate.
“First and foremost, I believe that Black Lives Matter – unequivocally and without exception. I have never said, written, snapchatted, tweeted, Instagrammed or implied anything to the contrary. Any report that states otherwise is a complete fabrication.”
Michael then went on to cite the amount of work that he has done in the black community — he is a founding member of the Blackout for Human Rights Network and he gave a speech at this year’s BET Awards on the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement. He also played Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station, his first lead role in a feature film. Oscar Grant was an unarmed black man who was killed by police in 2009. The shooting was caught on cellphone video.
In his open letter, Michael B. Jordan also addressed criticisms of him using the word “females” the GQ interview to refer to women.
“…my fans who are women mean the world to me. This is especially true of Black women, who as a group have supported my work long before the industry knew my name. I deeply regret and am ashamed that I said anything to disappoint or disparage them.”
The multiple faux pas in the Michael B. Jordan GQ interview poked holes into the facade of an up and coming actor whose popularity has been on a steady rise in the last couple years.
In his next movie role, Michael B. Jordan will play the son of a legendary boxer from the Rocky franchise in Creed.
[Photo by Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images]
