X-Men actor Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver in X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and X-Men: Apocalypse, issued an apology after he received social media backlash for retweeting a video showing Los Angeles police chasing and then tackling an alleged looting suspect.
Peter’s Quicksilver was part of one of the most memorable scenes from X-Men: First Class when he teams up with Professor X and Wolverine to break Magneto out of a prison underneath the Pentagon.
Peters retweeted a video by Twitter user @rimhammer as reported by PopCrave.
Evan Peters is being called out for retweeting a video praising the police for arresting a protester/looter. pic.twitter.com/r682XxoTaZ
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 2, 2020
The video, seen below, shows Los Angeles police chasing an alleged looting suspect and eventually tackling him into a parked car.
The video also features commentary from a man and a woman who are encouraging the police officers to capture the alleged looting suspect.
I can watch these piece of shit looters get tackled all day!! #ktla #riverside @RexChapman pic.twitter.com/k0KLyxZ7Cf
— Karim Vazquez (@RimHammer) June 2, 2020
Following Peters retweeting the video he faced a social media backlash where he was accused of racism.
he’s literally racist, he deserves to be called out.
— ً (@rbvrts) June 2, 2020
We got another racist on our hands
— Kyle (@Skol_9) June 2, 2020
@Evan_Peters how you gonna be ugly and racist at the same time ? Pick a struggle
— Mariah ✊🏾🖤 (@macthearies) June 2, 2020
After being accused of racism, Peters would then join the Black Out Tuesday movement and share a black square image to his Twitter.
The movement according to The Telegraph is “to fill Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with black squares, freeing up the time usually dedicated to social media for people to educate themselves on the Black Lives Matter movement.”
— Evan Peters (@Evan_Peters) June 2, 2020
He then followed it up with an apology for the retweet.
Peters wrote, “I don’t condone the guy watching the news at all in the video which I have deleted. I unknowingly retweeted it.”
He added, “I’m deeply upset it got on my newsfeed. I sincerely apologize if anyone was offended.”
Peters concluded, “I support black lives matter wholeheartedly.”
I don’t condone the guy watching the news at all in the video which I have deleted. I unknowingly retweeted it. I’m deeply upset it got on my newsfeed. I sincerely apologize if anyone was offended. I support black lives matter wholeheartedly.
— Evan Peters (@Evan_Peters) June 2, 2020
What do you make of Peters apology? Do you think he should have apologized?