'I didn’t need that': Mark Wahlberg was once charged with attempted murder after attacking two Asian men
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Mark Wahlberg has cemented his legacy as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. The 51-year-old actor’s magnificent on-screen performances show how far he has come after starting his career as rapper 'Marky Mark', the outspoken frontman of chart-topping hip-hop group 'Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch'. While Wahlberg has gained success throughout his career, he has also faced his fair share of controversies.
Before making his debut in the '90s, Wahlberg young years were filled with drug addiction, hate crimes and criminal conviction. Wahlberg had his first run-in with the law as a teenager in 1986 when he and his White friends were charged for chasing and throwing rocks at a group of Black children while yelling racial slurs at them. A legal lawsuit was filed against the actor two months after the event, but it was resolved in September of that same year, according to US Magazine. However, Wahlberg did not immediately learn from the incident as he committed even more severe mistakes two years later.
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Why Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder
In 1988, the ‘Ted’ star, who was 16 at that time, was arrested and charged with attempted murder after attacking two Vietnamese men while under the influence of hallucinogen PCP, according to the Daily Mail. In one incident, Wahlberg called a man, a 'Vietnam f***ing s***' and knocked him unconscious with a five-foot stick. Later that day, he punched a Vietnamese-American man, Johnny Trinh, in the face and allegedly left him nearly blind. Wahlberg stated at the time that he was inebriated and the attacks were not racially motivated. However, looking at his history, officials accused him of using racially charged language to describe the men he attacked.
Later, Wahlberg was found guilty of breaching his first victim's civil rights and was sentenced to a civil rights injunction for beating him unconscious. He was also charged with attempted murder for his brutal attack on Trinh. The actor was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to felony assault. He was freed after serving 45 days in jail. However, Trinh never held any grudge against Wahlberg as he believed that the actor was a troubled youth, who was also a victim of the racial animus ingrained in people worldwide.
'He was young and reckless, but I forgive him now'
In 2014, Trinh told the Daily Mail that Wahlberg didn’t blind him in the attack. “I was not blinded by Mark Wahlberg … he did hurt me, but my left eye was already gone. He was not responsible for that. He was young and reckless, but I forgive him now. Everyone deserves another chance. I would like to see him get a pardon. He should not have the crime hanging over him any longer. He paid for his crime when he went to prison,” he said.
Speaking on the consequences of his acts, Wahlberg said that the attack still haunted him and his attempt to get a pardon did not address the problems of his youth. “I didn’t need that. I spent 28 years righting the wrong … I was relieved to find out that the injuries to his eye had occurred in the early ’70s and not from the incident that happened that night … But I was able to meet with him and his wife and his daughter and apologize for those horrific acts. Some good did come out of it,” he said during an interview, per The Wrap.