Nate Parker Will Not Apologize Over Rape Accusation: I was vindicated.

Nate Parker

Nate Parker Will Not Apologize Over Rape Accusation

Nate Parker, the star and director/writer/producer of the upcoming film The Birth of a Nation is coming under fire again. He appears on 60 Minutes in his first major network interview after reports revealed that over 17 years ago, he faced a gang rape allegation. If you’ve followed the story, the case has been a major issue for him. And now, he’s making headlines for not apologizing. In the interview, he says

I was falsely accused. … I went to court … I was vindicated. I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here … her family had to deal with that, but as I sit here, an apology is – no.

When pressed about the incident and asked whether his actions were morally wrong, Parker says:

As a Christian man … just being in that situation, yeah, sure. I am 36 years old right now … my faith is very important to me … so looking back through that lens … it’s not the lens I had when I was 19 years old.

As previously reported, Parker stood trial and was acquitted of rape charges brought in 1999 by a Penn State classmate who said that Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin (who is also attached to Parker’s The Birth of A Nation), had raped her while she was unconscious. Parker has explained that the sexual act was consensual. Celestin initially was convicted of sexual assault, but that was overturned on appeal and wasn’t retried. The woman, who claimed she subsequently was harassed by Parker and Celestin, attempted suicide after the incident and dropped out school. She killed herself 12 years later.

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