The Birth of a Nation filmmaker Nate Parker reflects on his 2001 rape trial and acquittal

Actor-director acknowledges his previous comments about the case were insensitive and was devastated to learn his accuser had committed suicide

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Nate Parker plays Nat Turner in The Birth of a Nation. Photos: TNS

Published: 5:00pm, 29 Aug 2016Updated: 5:00pm, 29 Aug 2016

Actor-director Nate Parker says he never gave another thought to his trial and acquittal on rape charges in 2001 until forced to confront the issue again as the promotion for his film The Birth of a Nation was gaining steam this month.

In an interview with Ebony magazine published on Saturday, his first since learning in recent weeks that the women who accused him of rape in 1999 had committed suicide, Parker also acknowledged his previous comments to the media about the case were “insensitive.”

Parker at the premiere of Non-Stop. Photo: Reuters

“When I was first met with the news that this part of my past had come up, my knee-jerk reaction was selfish,” he told the magazine. “My only thought was I’m innocent and everyone needs to know.”

Parker, 36, whose film about an 1831 Virginia slave revolt is set for commercial release in the US in October, said he was only now coming to terms with issues of “toxic masculinity” and “male privilege” that influenced his “disrespectful” behaviour toward women as a younger man.

Parker, who was little known before The Birth of a Nation made a splash at the Sundance Film Festival in January, has been at the centre of a controversy since the 17-year-old rape case involving him came to wide public attention earlier this month.