Morgan Freeman slams Black History Month and says 'African-American' is 'insult' to the Black community
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Morgan Freeman has expressed his distaste toward Black History Month and the term “African-American" in a rare interview. While promoting his appearance in Zach Braff’s 'A Good Person', the 85-year-old actor branded the annual event and the term as an "insult" to the BLACK community.
"Two things I can say publicly that I do not like. Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month?" he told The Sunday Times of the event observed every February to commemorate the struggles and triumphs of black people. According to the 'Bruce Almighty' star, the annual observance has a negative connotation to him as it "regulates" the entirety of his heritage in four weeks.
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'Also 'African-American' is an insult'
Regarding the term "African-American" Freeman questioned the true meaning behind it. "Also 'African-American' is an insult. I don't subscribe to that title. Black people have had different titles all the way back to the N-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses 'African-American,'" he said. "What does it really mean? Most black people in this part of the world are mongrels. And you say Africa as if it's a country when it's a continent, like Europe," Freeman added. The 'Seven' star pointed out that the term does not make sense as it implies that Africa is a country, not a continent.
Freeman is 'envious' of Denzel Washington
Freeman also spoke about his "envy" towards actor Denzel Washington in the rare interview. Opening up about his choices in roles, Freeman admitted that the 68-year-old actor does "what I wanted to do." The star talked further about how his approach in films is way different than his younger self, citing that 'Driving Miss Daisy' and 'Glory' were “different” from what he’s done in the last decade.
Freeman plays himself in the films
“Now?” he said, adding, “It’s just… me. The character will adapt itself to you rather than the other way round, so I do what piques my interest. Sometimes it’s just the money alone.” In other words, Freeman just plays himself in the movies and tries to force the character to become more like him. Thus, he chooses characters that interest him. The star added that another interesting factor to him is how much he is getting.