The co-writer and producer of Golden Globes winner Green Book apologized Thursday for claiming in a tweet that he saw Muslims cheering in New Jersey after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan.
The same inflammatory story was often repeated by Donald Trump during his presidential campaign and his attacks on Muslims. There was no evidence that it ever took place. Nick Vallelonga backed up Trumps story in his 2015 tweet, claiming he had seen Muslims cheering in a CBS News report. He wrote that Trump was 100 percent correct.
But Vallelonga whose film, ironically, is about overcoming racial barriers apologized Thursday:
#GreenBook producer and screenwriter Nick Vallelonga just released this statement apologizing for his 2015 tweet that he saw Muslims cheering the collapse of the WTC on 9/11. pic.twitter.com/hlA3T3BJDo
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Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"muslims","slug":"muslims","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/muslims","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/muslims","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/muslims"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Muslims","slug":"muslims","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/muslims"},{"name":"Mahershala Ali","slug":"mahershala-ali","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mahershala-ali","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mahershala-ali","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mahershala-ali"},"relegenceId":2818765,"department":{"name":"Voices","slug":"voices"},"section":{"title":"Black Voices","slug":"black-voices"},"topic":{"title":"Mahershala Ali","slug":"mahershala-ali","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/voices/topic/mahershala-ali"},{"name":"Green Book film","slug":"green-book-film","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/green-book-film","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/green-book-film","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/green-book-film"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/green-book-film"},{"name":"peter farrelly","slug":"peter-farrelly","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/peter-farrelly","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/peter-farrelly","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/peter-farrelly"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/peter-farrelly"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">#GreenBook producer and screenwriter Nick Vallelonga just released this statement apologizing for his 2015 tweet that he saw Muslims cheering the collapse of the WTC on 9/11. pic.twitter.com/hlA3T3BJDo
Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 11, 2019
BuzzFeed reported the 2015 tweet Wednesday. After BuzzFeed reached out to Vallelonga, his Twitter account was deleted .
La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz blasted the tweet as disgusting. He noted that Green Book star Mahershala Ali is Muslim.
Nick Vallelonga wrote Green Book. My industry just gave him a Golden Globe for writing. This remains on his timeline.
Mahershala Ali is a Muslim, and a beautiful, generous and kind man.
This is all just too disgusting. pic.twitter.com/LYVbpFZFUL
Nick Vallelonga wrote Green Book. My industry just gave him a Golden Globe for writing. This remains on his timeline.
Jordan Horowitz (@jehorowitz) January 10, 2019
Mahershala Ali is a Muslim, and a beautiful, generous and kind man.
This is all just too disgusting. pic.twitter.com/LYVbpFZFUL
It was a week for apologies for Green Book creators.
Director Peter Farrelly apologized Wednesday after a 1998 Newsweek story resurfaced about how Farrelly used to flash his penis on film sets .
I was an idiot, Farrelly said in a statement, AP reported . The truth is, Im embarrassed and it makes me cringe now. Im deeply sorry.
In November, Green Book star Viggo Mortensen used the N-word during a question-and-answer session at a screening and later apologized .
Vallelonga won a Golden Globe Award on Sunday for best original screenplay along with co-writers Farrelly and Brian Currie.
The film also grabbed Golden Globes in the musical or comedy category for best motion picture and best performance by a supporting actor for Ali.
Green Book is based on the experiences of Vallelongas father (played by Mortensen), who was hired in the 1960s to escort black concert pianist Don Shirley (played by Ali) through the Jim Crow South.
Shirleys family has criticized the films depiction of the pianist as a completely inaccurate caricature .
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