Belafonte weighs in on Nate Parker
NEW YORK — Harry Belafonte says it’s unfair that Nate Parker’s shining moment with his film “The Birth of a Nation” is being overshadowed by a 17-year-old rape case.
Belafonte said in an interview on Tuesday that he saw Parker’s upcoming Nat Turner slave rebellion drama and was wowed by the project. Parker directed, wrote, produced and starred in the film
But concerning the rape case, he questioned why the old case just happened to resurface ahead of the film’s Oct. 7 release.
Earlier this month, the Hollywood trade press began to run stories about a 1999 rape allegation made against Parker when he was a student and wrestler at Penn State University.
Parker was acquitted, but his college roommate and “Birth” collaborator Jean Celestin was initially found guilty of sexual assault. It was later overturned when the accuser declined to testify for a retrial. The accuser committed suicide in 2012.
