Before he was an acclaimed actor, and before he was even Marky Mark, Mark Wahlberg was convicted of what have been dubbed hate crimes. And even after his success, a few more incidents have bubbled up, too.
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00:00Before he was an acclaimed actor, and before he was even Marky Mark, Mark Wahlberg was
00:05convicted of what have been dubbed hate crimes, and even after his success, a few more incidents
00:10have bubbled up, too.
00:12In 1986, a 15-year-old Mark Wahlberg was hanging out with friends at Savanhill Beach, located
00:18in Dorchester, Massachusetts. After coming across a group of younger black students on
00:22a field trip, his crew verbally and physically attacked them with racist slurs and rocks,
00:27according to The Guardian. While a nearby ambulance driver put a stop to the incident,
00:31a civil rights injunction went onto Wahlberg's soon-to-be-growing rap sheet. The charge meant
00:35he'd spend time behind bars should he be found guilty of a similar crime in the future.
00:39Decades later, some of the victims recalled the traumatic experience to AP News. One of
00:44the students, Kristen Atwood, stated,
00:46"...it was a hate crime, and that's exactly what should be on Wahlberg's record forever."
00:50Teacher Mary Belmonte noted,
00:51"...I was really scared. My heart was beating fast. I couldn't believe it was happening.
00:56The names, the rocks, the kids chasing."
00:59Wahlberg explained to Vanity Fair in 2011 that he wasn't proud that his actions were
01:03those of a lost, unsupported teen who spent his time drinking, using drugs, and skipping
01:08school to hang around with the wrong crowd.
01:10Mark Wahlberg was involved in yet another racist hate crime in 1988. This time, the
01:15high schooler was convicted of assault against two Vietnamese men. According to sentencing
01:19documents obtained by The Guardian, it started when the actor used a wooden pole to knock
01:24out the first man, Thanh Lam.
01:26While yelling racial slurs, Wahlberg's goal was to steal the two cases of beer Lam had
01:30been carrying. While attempting to hide from police, Wahlberg verbally attacked and punched
01:35a second Vietnamese man, Johnny Tren, in the eye, after he refused to help the actor avoid
01:39the cops.
01:40The 16-year-old Wahlberg was sentenced to two years in one of Boston's most notorious
01:44prisons for assault, battery, and violating the aforementioned civil rights injunction.
01:49He wound up only serving 45 days.
01:51While Lam has never publicly discussed the incident, Tren expressed forgiveness toward
01:55Wahlberg in a 2015 interview with the Daily Mail. Wahlberg claimed he was on a PCP high
02:00during the incident and told Vanity Fair that the repercussions he faced were a turning
02:04point in his life. Given his history of racist hate crimes, there was an understandable backlash
02:09in 2023, when Wahlberg was chosen to present a SAC award to the mostly Asian cast of Everything
02:14Everywhere All at Once.
02:16Mark Wahlberg has publicly stated multiple times that he's sorry for the crimes he committed
02:20as a youngster.
02:22The day I woke up in prison and realized the mistakes that I had made and the pain that
02:25I had caused people, I committed to turning my life around."
02:29Expressing his remorse for his past mistakes, he told The Guardian in 2020,
02:32"'I did the work. I took it upon myself to own up to my mistakes and go against the grain
02:37and not be a part of the gang anymore, to say that I was going to go and do my own thing.'"
02:41But, as much as he's publicly repented, a Dorchester-based VietAid spokesperson told
02:46The Hollywood Reporter in 2014 that Wahlberg never sat down with his victims or the larger
02:50Asian community to express remorse. It's led some to believe that Wahlberg is only
02:55worried about his Hollywood image.
02:57The actor applied for a Board of Pardons application, which sought to expunge the 1988 conviction
03:01from his record. One apparent reason for seeking the pardon was the ability to acquire licenses
03:06needed to run his Wahlberger's restaurants.
03:08"'You're looking for a liquor license for restaurants and you can't get it with a felony
03:12on your record?'
03:13"'Yes, we already have two restaurants open.'"
03:15In response, the Asian American advocacy group 18 Million Rising questioned,
03:19Why should someone who has done nothing to support his victims or atone for his crimes
03:23get a pardon? While Wahlberg ultimately revoked his petition amid the backlash in 2016, he
03:28revealed that the situation allowed him to finally apologize to one of the victims in
03:32person.
03:34While Mark Wahlberg is open about the steps he's taken to improve himself following his
03:38troubled youth, he's continued behaving the same way well into adulthood. At least twice
03:42in the early 90s, when the Boston native was in his 20s, the rapper-turned-actor was accused
03:47of assaulting others. In 1993, Wahlberg narrowly avoided additional criminal charges from an
03:52alleged incident in which he reportedly kicked a man so hard he broke his jaw.
03:57According to AP News, the fight began after the victim allegedly made racist comments
04:01about a member of the actor's entourage. The men settled out of court, which led to all
04:05charges against Wahlberg being dropped before the trial began. A year later, the artist
04:09formerly known as Marky Mark found himself involved in a brawl, this time with members
04:14of Madonna's inner circle.
04:16According to Shortlist, the fight took place at a Los Angeles party, and the fighter-actor
04:20wound up breaking the nose of an unnamed Maverick Records exec. Rumors say everything started
04:24when Wahlberg made a homophobic comment, though he denied the allegation in a subsequent interview
04:29with The Advocate. Wahlberg further claimed that Madonna called the police, making efforts
04:33to have him blacklisted in Hollywood. But it seemed to have blown over, as he was soon
04:37cast in Renaissance Man.
04:40While it's unclear whether Mark Wahlberg was actually guilty of making homophobic comments
04:44back in 1994, it wasn't the only time the actor was accused of being less than supportive
04:49of the LGBTQ plus community. Us Weekly reported that he was one of several A-list actors to
04:54turn down a lead role in 2005's Brokeback Mountain. Wahlberg said in a 2007 interview,
04:59I met with director Ang Lee. I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out.
05:04It was very graphic, descriptive, it's just not my deal.
05:08But he hasn't turned down every role he's been offered in an LGBTQ plus project. Wahlberg
05:12played the conservative father of a bullied gay teen son in 2020's JoBelle, much to the
05:17disdain of the LGBTQ plus community, allies, and critics alike. Wahlberg said in an interview
05:22with GMA,
05:23I realized, oh my God, as a parent, it was important for me to be a part of this, kind
05:28of figure out how to be able to listen to my children.
05:31The Daily Beast pointed out Wahlberg's controversial history, writing,
05:34"...there are still those critics who find it obtuse to cast an actor with that past
05:38in a movie that memorializes a gay teen suicide, with a message of inclusivity and acceptance."
05:44The optics surrounding the 2020 movie JoBelle wouldn't be the first time Mark Wahlberg was
05:48accused of taking advantage of a situation to further his career. A few years prior,
05:53he was working on All the Money in the World, a biographical crime drama about the kidnapping
05:57of John Paul Getty III. After principal photography was completed, sexual assault allegations
06:03against Kevin Spacey, who initially had a starring role in the film, began to circulate.
06:07It was decided that the bulk of the 2017 movie should be reshot, with Christopher Plummer
06:11assuming Spacey's role. It was initially reported that the project's other big stars, Wahlberg
06:16and Michelle Williams, had agreed to do the eight-day reshoots for free, as they were
06:20eager to distance themselves from Spacey. But USA Today revealed that Wahlberg had quietly
06:25accepted a $1.5 million check for the reshoot, while Williams pocketed less than $1,000 for
06:30her additional work. Fans were outraged, claiming Wahlberg had allegedly taken advantage of
06:35the situation to line his own pockets, without telling the full truth. According to Deadline,
06:40Wahlberg announced following the backlash,
06:42"...I 100% support the fight for fair pay, and I'm donating the $1.5 million to the Time's
06:47Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams' name."
06:50If you or a loved one has experienced a hate crime, contact the VictimConnect hotline by
06:55phone at 1-855-4-VICTIM or by chat for more information or assistance in locating services
07:01to help.
07:02If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.