Today in What Kind of Shit Is That, we have Emancipation producer Joey McFarland showing up to the premiere with a pic of an enslaved man.
If you don't know, Emancipation is the new Will Smith movie starring him as an enslaved man named Peter who escapes a plantation in Louisiana.
View this video on YouTube
Early reviews have been mixed, with some critics liking the cast but taking issue with some of the imagery and the script.
At the premiere on Wednesday, Joey came equipped with the 1863 pic that inspired the movie. In it, a man is seen sitting with his back to the camera, exposing the welts and scars left on his body from being whipped.
"I wanted a piece of Peter to be here tonight," Joey told a Variety reporter when asked why it was "important" for him to bring the photo that night.
#Emancipation producer Joey McFarland brought the original "scourged back" photo from 1863 to the film's premiere: "I wanted a piece of Peter to be here tonight." https://t.co/PUJ13jCFiD
Social media users thought it was wrong and highly inappropriate for him to be in possession of the photo, for one. Then to whip out such an image of anti-Black violence so casually as if it was a rookie card or something was even more out of pocket.
Photographs of anti-Black violence is not a collector's item to show off. It is grossly inappropriate and Joey McFarland should donate the artifacts he "collected" to the National Museum of African American History and Culture before the end of his lifetime. https://t.co/zOXmd24NqG
Call me crazy but it feels absolutely not ok for white ppl to own slave memorabilia. https://t.co/2hjk3A5EoQ
Very clear he has no real friends, because Black or not, any good friend would have said "No frickin way!" to this creepy, insensitive, haunted idea. https://t.co/wGBdtPuaRn
pulling out your slavery memorabilia like Pokémon cards is insane to me https://t.co/2V9gh85R9O
@JoeyMcFarland gross and inappropriate, these photos are not yours and should not be showed off at a movie premiere like a souvenir https://t.co/Jjg9Kp5rEY
White western culture’s obsession with acquisition treats private ownership as a virtue. He thinks having this incredible artifact of the African American experience of slavery in his pocket somehow honors the man in the photo more than if it were in the NMAAHC. He is wrong ofc. https://t.co/dbjyzoNZiW
so many black americans are disconnected from their history and joey mcfarland just collecting it like pokémon cards IF I SPEAK- https://t.co/C4dwnFwIbv
I hate this. I hate it so much. That photograph is one of the most indelible images of the history of American slavery. It shouldn’t be toted around like a souvenir and brought out for cameras to fulfill some rich guy’s dream of being a white savior. https://t.co/k43EmLbKp8
Black trauma is not your trophy. https://t.co/4jBmEU71hJ
And I'll leave anyone who doesn't understand the outrage with this:
If you don’t understand why by now, you might never figure it out. https://t.co/WpLjLFCAJi