John Wayne Exhibit Canceled After His Support for White Supremacy Resurfaces
Warner Bros. Pictures
Celebrity

The life and legacy of the 'True Grit' actor were supposed to be celebrated at the University of Southern California until his racist remarks were brought to light.

AceShowbiz - The University of Southern California's (USC) School of Cinematic Arts will remove an exhibit previously dedicated to movie icon John Wayne.

Controversy has surrounded the late actor in recent weeks amid ongoing Black Lives Matter protests worldwide, after comments he made about the black, Native American and LGBTQ communities in a 1971 interview with Playboy magazine resurfaced.

During the chat the "True Grit" star reportedly said, "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people."

He also said he felt no remorse about the subjugation of Native Americans, sharing, "I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them... Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival." Wayne is also said to have used a homophobic slur.

Students at the institution began campaigning for the removal of the exhibit last October (19), and Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Evan Hughes confirmed, "Conversations about systemic racism in our cultural institutions along with the recent global, civil uprising by the Black Lives Matter Movement require that we consider the role our School can play as a change maker in promoting antiracist cultural values and experiences."

"Therefore, it has been decided that the Wayne Exhibit will be removed," he said, adding that it will be moved to the Cinematic Arts Library and placed "within the proper archival and research context" in order to continue to provide some education on Wayne's role in Hollywood film history."

There have also been calls to remove the movie icon's name from an Orange County, California airport, although the allegations of racism have been refuted by Wayne's son Ethan, who has insisted his dad "did not support white supremacy in any way and believed that responsible people should gain power without the use of violence."

Follow AceShowbiz.com @ Google News

You can share this post!

You might also like