The Hate U Give won’t tolerate racism, fires Kian Lawley
Fox Studios fired Kian Lawley from The Hate U Give after videos surface of him spewing the n-word and using racial stereotypes.
After videos of actor Kian Lawley surfaced showing him and a friend spewing the n-word and other racist, anti-black stereotypes, he has been fired from Twentieth Century Fox’s The Hate U Give film. He played the white boyfriend of main character Starr Carter, played by Amandla Stenberg.
The film is based on the National Book Award Longlist, Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee (Mystery Writers of America), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and William C. Morris Award Finalist book of the same name, which released last February. The book has spent the last 48 weeks on the NYT Bestsellers list, much of which was at the very top of the list.
Lawley “apologized” with a tweet that didn’t actually apologize for anything he’d done.
if u don’t learn from ur mistakes, u can never grow as a person.
— Kian Lawley (@KianLawley) February 4, 2018
i’ve learned a lot & i am grateful to have the power to change. i never want to be who i was yesterday. we’re in a constant battle to become a better version of ourselves, use ur voice as ur weapon.
“Due to the controversy surrounding his past comments and behavior, Kian Lawley will no longer appear in ‘The Hate U Give.’ The studio plans to recast the role of Chris and reshoot scenes as needed,” a spokesperson for Twentieth Century Fox Films told Variety.
Before the firing was announced, many of his fans started attacking author Angie Thomas, despite her lack of involvement in the film.
Feel free to love your fave. But know that there is a TON of pain associated with this, more than you know. If I subtweet, I subtweet. I do what I want on my Twitter because yep, I'm a grown woman.
— Angie Thomas (@angiecthomas) February 5, 2018
The Internet responded in the best way it can — with an Angie Thomas Appreciation Day hashtag.
Authors and readers alike shared their favorite memories with Angie, as well as the importance of The Hate U Give.
Her words don’t just help the teens who read her books.
— Eric Smith (@ericsmithrocks) February 5, 2018
Her words help their parents.@angiecthomas writes books that will help me have hard conversations with my son when he’s older.
I don’t have the words, but she does. And I’m so grateful. #AngieThomasAppreciationDay
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You should read the rest of this thread, and the hashtag. The Hate U Give is a very important novel, and I can’t wait to see what comes from this reshoot.