Terry Crews has once again found himself on the wrong side of Black Twitter’s anger after tweeting to boycott Magic City, the iconic strip club internationally known and heralded.
The actor and host of “America’s Got Talent” was trending most of Thursday afternoon after his tweet simply read “‘Boycott Magic City.” The prominent gentleman’s club has been around for 35 years, opened in 1985 by Michael “Magic” Barney. It has been chronicled in documentaries, Sports Illustrated articles and paid homage to by rap artists such as Future, Jeezy and Drake.
With the entertainment spot holding a place in Atlanta and pop culture history, the short tweet was received by many as a slight to Black culture by Crews.
What has Terry Crews said in the past?
This is the third incident during the last year with Crews, who acted in popular movies including “White Chicks,” where his stance on race relations has not been well received by many in the Black community.
In June, he faced a similar fate with his comments when he tweeted about “Black supremacy.” He explained in an interview on CBS’ “The Talk” that he meant that Black people should not combat white supremacy with militant movements.
“We have people who have decided who is going to be Black and who’s not,” he continued. “And I simply — because I have a mixed-race wife (Rebecca King-Crews) — have been discounted from the conversation a lot of the time, by very, very militant movements, the Black power movement. I’ve been called all kinds of things — like an Uncle Tom — simply because I’m successful, simply because I’ve worked my way out of Flint, Michigan.”
He shared his perspective days after the death of George Floyd and amid the protests, which in some cases became violent, taking place across the country.
In February, he was compelled to apologize after he made statements that some viewed as disparaging to actress Gabrielle Union, who quit “America’s Got Talent” after experiencing what she called a racist and toxic work environment.
During an appearance on the “Today” show last November, Crews was asked about Union’s allegations, specifically that there was a toxic atmosphere on set.
“I can’t speak for sexism because I’m not a woman, but I can speak on any racism comments,” Crews said. “That was never my experience. In fact, it was the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment.”
In his apology, he said he neglected to honor Union’s personal experience with staff and executives.
‘“I want you to know it was never my intention to invalidate your experience — but that is what I did,” Crews tweeted. “I apologize. You have been through a lot in this business, and with that I empathize with the struggle toward fairness and equality in the workplace.”
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