Here's why Mark Wahlberg's 'hate crime' is resurfacing after SAG awards

AWARDS

Mark Wahlberg is being slammed for presenting a 2023 SAG Award to a predominantly Asian cast decades after brutally assaulting two Vietnamese American men.

Several critics took to social media to call out SAG-AFTRA, the labor union that puts on the awards show, for having the “Ted” actor hand out the trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture to the stars of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Sunday.

@tihuachang on Twitter

“How ironic that Mark Wahlberg, who attacked Asians when he was a young man in Boston, announced the big winner of the #SAGAwards2023 : the mainly Asian American ensemble cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once - Wahlberg did not seem happy.”

@aguirreryan on Twitter

“Good for Mark Wahlberg, standing on a stage with all those Asian people without assaulting any of them.”

Some of Wahlberg’s fans defended the 51-year-old, saying he had committed the heinous crime in the ’80s and served time in jail for it.

@i_am_joey on Twitter

"So everyone is reacting over Mark Wahlberg presenting an award to a film with a predominantly asian cast because of a crime he did over 30 years ago to an asian bec of his drug issues then served time and did peace with the offended party and turned his life around. Okay then.”

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” made SAGs history with a record four wins. The movie’s lead actress, Michelle Yeoh, also became the first Asian woman to take home Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.

Wahlberg’s appearance at the ceremony came nearly 35 years after he violently attacked two Asian men when he was 16.

In April 1988, Wahlberg knocked a middle-aged Vietnamese American man unconscious with a stick and called him a “Vietnam f–king s–t.”

Later that same day, the “Transformers” star attacked a second Vietnamese American man by punching him in the eye. When police arrested him, he allegedly boasted, “I’ll tell you now, that’s the motherf–ker whose head I split open.”

He later claimed he was high on PCP at the time.

Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder and pleaded guilty to felony assault.

He was sentenced to two years in jail but served only 45 days before being released.

The Oscar nominee doesn’t just have a history of racism against Asian people. He also hurled slurs at black children when he was 15 and threw rocks at them, resulting in a civil action that was settled in 1986.

In 2014, Wahlberg sought a pardon for his crimes, but the request was dropped a year later.

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