The SAG Awards are facing backlash for the decision to have Mark Wahlberg present an award to the predominantly Asian cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
In case you’ve not caught up yet, last night’s SAG Awards were an incredible success for the cast and creators of Everything Everywhere All at Once, which broke records by becoming the biggest film winner in the ceremony’s 29-year history.
Some of the most notable wins were for the film’s lead stars, including Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curits, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan — making him the first Asian actor ever to win a SAG Award for an individual performance in a film.
As was expected, the movie also took home the award for an Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, which was presented on the night by Mark Wahlberg.
If you’re familiar with the actor, you might already know why viewers were a little confused to see that he, of all people, had been selected to present the award to a predominantly Asian cast.
For context, Wahlberg has a history of racially motivated attacks, including one instance when he pleaded guilty to felony assault after being charged for attacking two Vietnamese men in Boston.
On April 8, 1988, a man named Thanh Lam was left unconscious after Wahlberg — who was apparently high on the drug PCP at the time of the incident — approached him on the street and used a 5-foot-long stick to knock him down, calling him a “Vietnam fucking shit,” according to legal filings.
The same night, Wahlberg approached another Vietnamese man named Hoa Trinh and punched him in the face.
After he was placed under arrest, Wahlberg apparently used racial slurs to describe the two men,
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