The details surrounding Nate Parker’s previous rape case have been surrounding him as of late and the actor/director took a moment to discuss it.
Parker fought back tears during his interview with 60 Minutes Sunday, as he talked about his past. He discussed what led up to a female college classmate alleging that he raped her in 1999.
“You know, I was falsely accused. You know, I went to court. And I sat in trial. You know, I was vindicated. I was proven innocent,” Parker told Anderson Cooper.
Parker maintained that the sex was consensual, saying that he doesn’t feel any remorse for what happened on the day in question. “I don’t feel guilty,” he said. When Anderson asked if he felt he did “something morally wrong,” Parker replied, “As a Christian man, just being in that situation, yeah, sure. I’m 36 years old right now. And my faith is very important to me. You know, so looking back through that lens, I definitely feel like it’s not the lens that I had when I was 19 years old.”
Parker also says that he did not know that his accuser had gone on to commit suicide until he recently heard the news. “I had no idea. I had absolutely no idea. I found out in the news,” he said. “I was devastated. It was, it was shocking. You know, I couldn’t believe it.”
Parker also says that he feels no need to apologize, “I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here. You know, I feel terrible that, you know, her family had to deal with that. But as I sit here, an apology is – no.”
Birth of a Nation hits theaters October 7. Do you feel Parker should still have to answer to these allegations after so many years have passed?
