Nate Parker Accused Of Stealing Idea For Black-Centered Streaming Service, Allegedly Asked Accuser To Be His CEO

Nate Parker Accused Of Stealing Idea For Black-Centered Streaming Service, Allegedly Asked Accuser To Be His CEO

Could Nate Parker have fabricated an attempt at networking in order to highjack an idea?

Late last week (Thursday, June 10th), DeShuna Elisa Spencer took to Twitter to put the actor-turned-filmmaker on blast for allegedly stealing her streaming service concept. DeShuna Elisa Spencer is the founder and CEO of kweliTV, a streaming service with a mission of celebrating Black narratives from across the globe, as well as making them more readily accessible.

It was her affiliation with kweliTV that allegedly got Nate Parker interested in connecting with her in late 2020. After discussing her business as well as deeply personal matters, she alleged that Nate Parker sought to partner with kweliTV–but on the condition that he would acquire 50% of it, which DeShuna Elisa Spencer declined.

After rejecting his offer, Spencer claims she never heard back from the filmmaker–that is, until June 10th, 2021. It was then that she received word that Parker was creating a streaming service called Mansa, described as:

“[Being] uniquely focused on developing curated content that represents the nuance and breadth of global Black Culture.”

Spencer claims this service “sounds almost identical” to kweliTV, and alleges that her concept was copied by Parker. Adding further insult to injury, Spencer was actually approached to be the CEO of Mansa. It is also worth noting that actors David Oyelowo and Chiké Okonkwo are in on the project, too.

Here’s the full message DeShuna Elisa Spencer received.

A couple of days later, Spencer returned to Twitter to clarify that she was not against kweliTV receiving new competition in the form of Mansa. Rather, she was instead trying to speak out against her idea–which Nate Parker allegedly called “visionary”–being ripped off.

Parker has not yet commented on the accusation.

What are your thoughts on Nate Parker being accused of stealing a streaming service concept? Comment down below to let us know.