Nate Parker apologises after rape trial controversy

Actor/director Nate Parker has apologised for the way he handled the recent controversy surrounding his rape acquittal.
The 36-year-old and his Birth of a Nation collaborator and former roommate Jean Celestin were accused of sexual assault by an 18-year-old female classmate while studying at Penn State University in Pennsylvania in 1999.
Parker was later acquitted in a 2001 trial, while Celestin was initially found guilty and sentenced to serve six months behind bars. His conviction was later overturned following an appeal.
The news of the rape trial resurfaced earlier this month (Aug16), when Parker told Variety.com he had moved on from the troubled chapter of his life.
“Seventeen years ago, I experienced a very painful moment in my life,” he explained. “It resulted in it being litigated. I was cleared of it. That’s that. Seventeen years later, I’m a filmmaker. I have a family. I have five beautiful daughters. I have a lovely wife. I get it.
“The reality is… I can’t relive 17 years ago. All I can do is be the best man I can be now,” he added.
His comments prompted his alleged victim’s brother to reveal the woman had committed suicide in 2012, as she had struggled for years to come to terms with the outcome of the trial, prompting further backlash from members of the public.
Now, in an interview with Ebony magazine, Parker has apologised for his selfish reaction to the controversy surrounding his rape acquittal.
“I was acting as if I was the victim,” he said, reflecting on his interview with Variety. “And that’s wrong. I was acting as if I was the victim because I felt like, my only thought was that I’m innocent and everyone needs to know. I didn’t even think for a second about her, not even for a second.”
Expressing his shock at the woman’s death, Parker went on to detail his desire to become more informed about sexual assault and the affects it has on victims.
“All I can do is seek the information that’ll make me stronger, that’ll help me overcome my toxic masculinity, my male privilege, because that’s something you never think about,” he explained.
“You don’t think about other people… I recognise as a man there’s a lot of things that I don’t have to think about. But I’m thinking about them now.”