The 'Aquaman' actor shares his harrowing experience with racism when he was a freshman studying architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.
- August 13, 2020
AceShowbiz - Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was left "frustrated" after experiencing racism as a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley.
The "Aquaman" star tells Men's Health magazine for the publication's Race, Racism, and Black Men's Health report that he was "so angry that I cried" after being told, "You don't belong here," as a student at the organisation.
"I studied architecture, and … it was common to spend the whole night working in the studio," he recalls. "One night, I left the studio around 1:00 a.m. to go to my dorm and get something to eat, and then I headed back…"
"As I approached the building, there was a woman going inside, just a couple steps ahead of me," he shares, revealing she told him, " 'Stop, you don't belong here... I'm gonna call the police and tell them that you're trying to rape me.' "
When he pulled the door open, "she began running and screaming at the top of her lungs," he details. Campus security arrived but, after questioning them, "apologised and left."
The "Watchmen" star writes, "I remember being so angry that I cried. It was frustrating. I deserved to be there. Period. That was my reminder that even if I did everything right… some things in life would be unavoidable."
"Because I was black. I was 18 years old. I did the only thing I knew to do. I cried, and I swallowed that s ** t."
