On the Oct. 7 edition of CBS’ “The Talk,” co-host Sheryl Underwood defends Nate Parker and his film “Birth of a Nation” on the day the film was released.
In the 2-minute clip, Underwood shares her story as a rape survivor to show the glaring consequences rape has on everyone.
“[Parker’s] life has been changed. But he has evolved. He’s given his life to Christ. He’s become a better person. If you want to hold him to that, then you need to hold everybody else that’s done something to the exact same standard.”
The comedienne adds that Hollywood does not treat white celebrities the same way under similar circumstances.
“Why is it that Roman Polanski can do whatever he wants to do and that was a 13-year-old child?” she says. “… I guess my feeling about this is, from a person who has been raped, one thing we need to take a moment to understand is the long-lasting devastating effect of rape to everyone involved.”
Furthermore, she questions why the media decided to discuss Parker’s 17-year-old rape case at the time of the film’s release. During the press of 2014’s Beyond the Lights, the media did not focus so heavily on his case, she notes.
“… So when you’re talking about a movie that seems to artistically portray the violation of people who were considered property then you’re talking about a political devastation. [It is] not just a sexual devastation that was supposed to motivate Nat Turner into doing what he did.”
