‘I was vindicated’: Birth of a Nation star won’t say sorry over rape case
Nate Parker, director and lead actor in slavery drama, says in interview he was falsely accused of rape of woman, who later committed suicide, and asks for focus to be on his movie, out next week
Nate Parker, director and star of the new slavery drama The Birth of a Nation, says he won’t apologise over a 17-year-old rape accusation that has diverted attention from a film once tipped as an Oscars front runner.
Parker, 36, noted to Anderson Cooper in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, that he was acquitted of rape in a 2001 trial, and he asked people to look beyond the incident and focus on his movie.
The rape accusation and revelation in August that Parker’s accuser committed suicide in 2012, have dominated conversation around the film before its U.S. release on October 7.
The film tells the story of preacher Nat Turner, played by Parker, who in 1831 led a slave rebellion in Virginia. It includes a rape scene in which Turner’s wife is the victim.
Sharon Loeffler, the sister of Parker’s accuser, wrote in an opinion piece in Hollywood trade paper Variety on Thursday that she could “only imagine the pain (her sister) would be experiencing now to see Nate Parker promoting his new movie”.