Nate Parker
As the media push and Oscar talk for Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation continues to ramp up, more attention is being brought to a disturbing incident from his past. In an interview with Variety last week, Parker briefly (and fairly indirectly) spoke on a rape trial from his past. Parker was acquitted in 2001, while his roommate, and Birth of a Nation co-writer, Jean Celestin, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 18-year-old female. Celeste appealed the verdict and was granted a new trial in 2005, but the case never made it back to court after the victim decided not to testify again.
In that same interview with Variety last week, Parker stated, “I can’t relive 17 years ago. All I can do is be the best man I can be now.” You can read the full interview here. This led the accuser’s brother, Johnny, to speak to Variety this week and reveal more information on the impact this whole ordeal had on his sister. Tragically, he shared that his sister (her name is intentionally being withheld) committed suicide in 2012. Johnny goes into great detail on how this whole situation changed his sister for good, causing her to drop out of school and bounce around in search of happiness, but he feels as if those ghosts never left her.
This, of course, led to more talk of of Nate Parker’s past this week, and ultimately led to a more thorough and direct response from Parker.
You can read his full Facebook statement below and take from it what you will.
